* 


JOSEPH   SMITH, 


UTAH  AND  THE  MORMONS. 


HISTORY,  GOVERNMENT,  DOCTRINES,  CUSTOMS, 
AND  PROSPECTS  OF 


THE   LATTER-DAY   SAINTS. 


PERSONAL  OBSERVATION  DURING  A  SIX  MONTHS'  RESIDENCE 
AT  GREAT  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 


BY  BENJAMIN  G. 


LATE   SECRETARY    OF   UTAH   TERRITORY. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
82    BEEKMAN    STREET. 

1854.      - 


I 

X 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year,  1854,  by 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 
In  the  Clerk  s  Office  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


lis 


MILLARD    FILLMORE, 

LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

WITH  GRATEFUL  RECOLLECTIONS  AND  PROFOUND  ESTEEM 
IS  THIS 

RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED. 


PREFACE. 


IN  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1852  I  was  so- 
licited to  discharge  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Utah.  A  curiosity,  long  cherished,  to  visit  a 
portion  of  the  world  about  which  many  marvelous  ac- 
counts had  been  given,  induced  me  to  accept  the  va- 
cant post.  The  result  has  been  a  six  months'  residence 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  embracing  the 
severe  winter  of  1852-3.  Such  a  winter's  residence 
excludes  the  sojourner  from  the  rest  of  the  world  as 
effectually  as  is  the  luckless  navigator  hemmed  in  by 
Arctic  ice,  and  leaves  little  else  to  engross  the  atten- 
tion aside  from  the  strange  and  eccentric  community 
which  has  established  itself  in  that  isolated  region. 
The  practical  workings  of  Mormon  institutions,  when 
freed  from  the  outside  pressure  of  "  Gentile"  prejudice 
and  hostility,  has  excited  much  curiosity,  and  is  be- 
coming a  question  of  some  political  importance ;  and 
from  gleaning  facts  for  the  gratification  of  numerous 
correspondents,  I  have  been  induced  to  put  them  in  a 
form  for  the  public  eye.  In  the  course  of  doing  this,  it 
has  been  found  difficult  to  illustrate  the  subject  with- 
out giving  a  more  detailed  previous  history  of  the  Mor- 
mons than  at  first  intended,  and  the  result  is  the  fol- 
lowing work. 

The  aim  has  been  to  give  a  strictly  impartial  ac- 
count of  the  Mormons  as  they  have  been  and  as  they 
are,  without  abstaining,  however,  from  a  free  expres- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

sion  of  opinion,  whenever  the  facts  seemed  to  warrant 
a  fair  conclusion.  To  insure  correctness,  they  have 
been  allowed  to  speak  for  themselves  whenever  it  has 
been  practicable,  and  consistent  with  the  brevity  of 
the  work.  Aside  from  publications  professedly  Mor- 
mon, much  assistance  has  been  derived  from  a  book  en- 
titled "  The  Mormons,"  recently  published  in  London. 
The  recent  and  excellent  work  of  Lieutenant  Gunni- 
son,  entitled  "  The  History  of  the  Mormons,"  might 
seem  to  preclude  the  necessity  of  any  further  publica- 
tion on  the  same  subject,  and  it  probably  would  have 
prevented  the  present,  had  it  come  into  my  hands  at 
an  earlier  period.  Yet  I  would  fain  believe  that  a 
more  full  development  of  some  of  the  most  distinctive 
features  of  Mormonism  than  fell  under  his  observation, 
with  the  rare  opportunity  which  my  position  gave  me 
for  -obtaining  facts,  will  make  it  acceptable  to  the 
public. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  in  this  place  to  say  that 
I  was  received  at  Salt  Lake  City  and  uniformly  treat- 
ed with  friendly  courtesy.  It  was  my  good  fortune, 
while  there,  to  be  domesticated  as  a  boarder  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Farnham,  who,  though  a  Mormon,  took 
unwearied  pains  to  promote  the  comforts  of  her  "  Gen- 
tile" guests.  Among  those  with  whom  I  was  thrown 
into  frequent  communication,  I  hold  in  particular  re- 
membrance Judge  Z.  Snow,  Mr.  H.  L.  Hey  wood,  the 
territorial  marshal,  Mr.  William  C.  Staines,  the  libra- 
rian, Dr.  "Willard  Richards,  the  postmaster,  and  his  as- 
sistant, Mr.  Kane,  Mr.  A.  Carrington,  of  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly,  and  Mr.  J.  Grimshaw,  who  seemed  to 
take  pleasure  in  rendering  polite  and  kind  attentions. 

Ithaca,  New  York,  April,  1854 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

FROM    MISSOURI    TO    UTAH Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

TERRITORY   OF    UTAH. 

The  Great  Basin :  its  geographical  Features  and  Curiosities. — Great 
Salt  Lake. — Utah  Lake. — Iron  and  Coal. — Agricultural  Capacities 
and  Drawbacks.  —  Irrigation. — Alkaline  Salts.  —  Scarcity  of  Tim- 
ber.—  Political  Importance. — Business. — Mr.  Livingston.  —  Great 
Salt  Lake  City.  —  "Ensign  Peak."  —  Cities. — Health.  —  Improve- 
ments    29 

CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORY  OF   MORMONISM. 

Theories  in  regard  to  Origin  of  Indians. — Solomon  Spaulding. — His 
"Manuscript  Found." — Sidney  Rigdon. — Joseph  Smith,  Jr. — His 
Parentage  and  early  Habits. — Discovers  some  curious  Antiquities. 
— Golden  Bible  discovered  and  translated. — Characters  submitted  to 
Professor  Anthon. — His  Letter 49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Coincidence  between  Book  of  Mormon  and  "  Manuscript  Found." — 
Witnesses,  their  Character. — Church  organized  at  Fayette,  N.  Y. — 
Removal  to  Kirtland,  Ohio. — Zion  located  at  Independence,  Mo. — 
Lands  purchased  in  Jackson  County,  Mo. — Discords  among  the 
Saints.  —  Quorum  of  Three. — Troubles  with  the  Gentiles. — Mor- 
mons expelled  from  Jackson  County 66 

A2 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Mormons  quit  Clay  and  remove  into  Caldwell  County. — Joseph's  Jour- 
neys into  Missouri. — Sets  up  a  Bank  at  Kirtland. — Leaves  Kirtland 
in  the  Night. — Troubles  in  Missouri. — "  Danites." — Joseph  arrested, 
and  Mormons  agree  to  leave  the  State. — Murder  at  Hawn's  Mill. — 
Mormons  remove  to  Illinois. — Evidence  on  the  Trial  of  Joseph. — 
His  Imprisonment  and  Escape Page  81 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Nauvoo. — Revelation  to  build  Temple  and  Tavern. — Nauvoo  Legion. 
— Letter- writers. — Joseph  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency. — Letter  to 
Clay  and  Calhoun 97 

CHAPTER  VII. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Apparent  Prosperity.  —  Internal  Difficulties. — Arrogance. — Joseph's 
Licentiousness.  —  Polygamy.  —  Spiritual  Wife-ism. — Troubles  with 
Higbee  and  Foster. — Attempt  to  arrest  Joseph. — Joseph  and  Hyrum 
surrender  on  Pledge  of  Safety. — Are  murdered. — Character  of  Jo- 
seph Smith Ill 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Excitement  at  Nauvoo. — Struggle  for  the  Succession. — Rigdon  ex- 
communicated.— Brigham  Young  elected. — Further  Troubles  with 
the  Gentiles. — The  Saints  resolve  to  quit  the  United  States. — Ar- 
rangements for  that  Purpose.  —  Nauvoo  besieged,  and  Mormons 
driven  out. — Character  of  Mormon  Community,  and  alleged  Perse- 
cutions    135 

CHAPTER  IX. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Battalion  for  Mexican  War. — Mormons  arrive  at  Salt  Lake. — Charac- 
ter of  the  Mormon  Exode. — "  Crickets."— General  Address  to  the 


CONTENTS. 

Saints.  — "  Perpetual  Emigrating  Fund  Company,"  and  "  Public 
Works." — State  of  Deseret. — Territory  organized. — Ceremonies  o£ 
breaking  Ground  for  the  Temple 

CHAPTER  X. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Priesthoods. — The  President  is  Prophet  and  Seer :  his  Power. — Tith- 
ing.— Individual  cases. — Tithing-office 171 

CHAPTER  XL 

GOVERNMENT. 

Legislative  Assembly. — Governor's  Message,  1852. — Legislation  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Church. — No  Freedom  of  the  Ballot-box. — Crimes. —    JLJ 
Murder  of  Hatch. — Case  of  Goodyear. — Joe  Bankhead. — Better 
Treatment  of  Emigrants.  —  Thieving. — Different  Classes  of  Mor- 
mons     185 

CHAPTER  XII. 

DOCTRINES. 

Idea  of  "  Last  Day." — Inspiration  of  Mormon  Apostles. — Doctrines  as 
contained  in  Book  of  "Doctrines  and  Covenants." — Faith  the  con- 
trolling Principle. — Rebellion  of  Lucifer. — Great  Efficacy  of  Bap- 
tism.— Syllabus  of  Doctrines. — Damnation  and  Salvation 201 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

DOCTRINES    CONTINUED. 

Doctrinal  Sermons. — The  Resurrection  Saints  to  have  Farms  and  be- 
come Gods. — Pre-existence  of  Spirits. — Pantheism. — Propagation 
of  Gods. — Holy  Spirit. — Angels. — Materialism 217 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

DOCTRINES    CONTINUED. 

Early  Notions  on  Marriage. — Introduction  of  Polygamy. — Existed  at 
first  as  a  secret  Institution. — Jesuitism  of  Missionaries  on  the  Sub- 
ject.— Polygamy  an  Element  of  Salvation. — The  Gods  are  Polyg- 
amists  .  .  233 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Prevalence  of  Polygamy.  —  Its  Effects  on  Population. — Arguments 
in  its  Favor. — Its  Effects  on  Morals. — Frightful  Licentiousness. — 
Its  Influence  on  the  first  Wife. — Divisions  and  Hatred  in  Fami- 
lies   Page  246 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Book  of  Mormon. — Proofs  of  its  modern  Origin. — Its  Style. — Argu- 
ments in  Favor  of  the  System 264 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Efforts  to  make  female  Converts. — Mode  of  conducting  public  Wor- 
ship.—  Sermon  by  Parley  P.  Pratt. — Schools. — Deseret  News. — 
Doctor  Richards.  —  Deseret  Almanac,  by  W.  W.  Phelps.  —  Lan- 
guage used  in  public  Discourses  284 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Social  Intercourse. — Governor's  Party. — Influence  of  Polygamy  upon 
Amusements. — Style  of  Building. — Amusing  Scenes  growing  out 
of  Polygamy. — Superstition. — Endowment  Robes. — Initiation  Cer- 
emonies.— The  Curse. — The  Patriarch  and  his  Blessings. — Gift  of 
Tongues. — Notions  on  Slavery  . '. 303 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Manner  of  making  Converts. — Doctor  Cox. — English  Converts. — Con- 
tinual Loss  of  Members. — Dissensions. — Gladdenism. — Apparent 
Decline  of  Mormonism. — Decrease  of  Population. — Present  Charac- 
ter of  its  Missionaries. — Conclusion 318 

APPENDIX  341 


UTAH  AND  THE  MORMONS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

FROM    MISSOURI    TO    UTAH. 

OUR  train  started  from  Westport,  Mo.,  on  the  24th 
of  August,  and  reached  Great  Salt  Lake  City  on  the 
26th  of  October,  1852,  a  distance  of  over  eleven  hund- 
red miles.  A  few  incidents  of  the  travel,  though  over 
so  well-beaten  a  road,  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the 
reader. 

A  person  intending  to  cross  the  Plains  must  expect 
to  suffer  some  inconveniences.  In  so  long  a  journey, 
the  traveler  will  encounter  the  usual  variations  of  the 
weather :  there  will  be  sunshine  and  storms ;  he  will 
be  too  hot,  too  cold,  and  too  wet  at  times ;  he  will  some- 
times be  unable  to  quench  his  thirst,  except  from  a 
stagnant  pool ;  and  every  warm  evening  he  must  look 
for  a  fight  with  musquitoes,  whose  appetites  are  quite 
as  keen  as  his  own.  At  first  he  will  feel  some  anxiety 
in  regard  to  Indians,  and  keep  his  rifle  and  revolver  in 
proper  shooting  condition ;  but  this  soon  wears  off,  and 
before  the  journey  is  half  ended  he  becomes  altogether 
too  careless  in  this  respect.  We  had,  one  evening,  an 
Indian  alarm,  after  being  four  weeks  upon  the  road, 
when  one  revolver  proved  to  be  the  only  fire-arm  in 


14 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


order  in  the  camp ;  the  alarm,  however,  was  occasioned 
by  a  gang  of  famished  wolves,  trying  to  form  an  ac- 
quaintance with  our  mules.  With  ordinary  foresight 
in  reference  to  the  requisite  supply  of  food,  a  proper 
selection  of  animals,  and  the  time  and  mode  of  perform- 
ing the  journey,  there  need  be  but  few  hardships.  It 


CROSSING   THE   PLAINS. 


is  easy  to  fit  up  a  carriage  with  conveniences  for  sleep- 
ing, which  some  do,  but  the  majority  prefer  to  sleep  on 
the  ground,  even  in  stormy  weather.  An  india-rubber 
cloth  spread  upon  the  thick  grass  makes  a  dry  and  soft 
bed ;  at  any  rate,  this  kind  of  dormitory,  curtained 
with  heaven's  canopy,  generally  proves  more  friendly 
to  sleep  than  many  a  bed  of  down.  The  fatigue  of 
traveling  wears  off  in  a  very  short  time,  and  there  is 
usually  less  weariness  at  the  close  of  the  day  than  is 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMON  S. 


felt  in  traveling  the  same  number  of  hours  by  rail-road. 
In  a  well-regulated  train,  the  pleasurable  excitements 
of  the  journey  far  outbalance  all  the  inconveniences. 
There  is  a  kind  of  cutting  loose  from  the  business  re- 
lations and  customs  of  civilized  life,  which  gives  new 
freedom  and  elasticity  to  the  mind.  The  traveler  feels 
that  he  has  sufficient  elbow-room  ;  he  neither  jostles 
nor  is  jostled  by  any  one  ;  he  experiences  all  the  buoy- 
ancy of  the  boy  when  liberated  from  the  restraints  of 
the  school-room.  His  feelings  and  ideas  expand  in 
view  of  the  boundless  plains  spread  before  and  around 
him.  There  is  a  grandeur  and  sublimity  in  the  vast 
expanse  of  plains,  skirted  and  intersected  by  rivers  and 
lofty  mountains,  which  would  kindle  enthusiasm  in  the 
bosom  of  the  merest  business  drudge  of  the  counting- 
house  who  dreams  only  of  prices  and  profits. 

The  evening  camp,  too,  has  its  peculiar  pleasures  : 
the  rude  preparation  for,  and  exquisite  relish  of  the 
evening  meal  —  the  boisterous  good  humor  of  the  com- 
pany, with  the  usual  concomitants  of  song  and  anec- 
dote —  and  the  almost  invariable,  and,  withal,  plaintive 
serenade  from  a  score  or  two  of  prairie  wolves,  produce 
a  wild  and  pleasurable  excitement,  which  the  voya- 
geur  is  ever  fond  of  calling  to  remembrance. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  wild  game  along  nearly 
the  whole  route  :  prairie  chickens,  ducks,  hare,  ante- 
lope, &c.,  afford  rare  sport  in  the  hunting,  and  furnish 
food  fit  for  an  emperor.  But  the  buffalo  is  the  most 
noted,  useful,  and  interesting  of  all  the  wild  game  to 
be  found  on  the  plains.  We  saw  none  until  after  we 
left  Fort  Kearney,  after  which  we  met  vast  numbers 
along  the  Valley  of  the  Platte,  and  very  few  after  leav- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


ing  that  river.  At  a  distance  they  look  like  herds  of 
common  cattle  ;  near  at  hand  they  are  awkward,  mis- 
shapen monsters  enough  —  all  head  and  shoulders,  and 
very  little  of  any  thing  else.  They  were  very  wild, 
and  invariably  ran  off,  as  we  approached,  with  a  clum- 
sy, lumbering  gait.  We  saw  them  under  a  great  vari- 
ety of  circumstances.  On  one  occasion,  a  herd  of  them 
were  crossing  the  Platte  in  single  file  (the  way  they 
usually  travel)/  and  appeared  in  the  distance  like  abut- 
ments for  a  gigantic  bridge  or  aqueduct  about  being 
built.  At  another  time  we  approached  nearer  than 
usual  to  a  drove  of  them  before  they  perceived  us,  and, 
as  they  lumbered  off,  they  produced  a  stampede  of  our 
whole  train,  and  it  was  with  much  difficulty  we  stopped 
and  quieted  our  mules.  At  another  time  a  herd  of 
some  three  thousand  were  feeding  along  the  banks  of 
the  river,  and  never  discovered  us  until  we  were  pass- 
ing nearly  opposite,  when  the  monsters,  in  their  fright, 
scampered  directly  toward  us,  and  actually  ran  be- 
tween different  portions  of  our  train  ;  two  of  the  teams, 
less  guarded  than  the  rest,  stampeded  after  them. 
These  incidents  always  furnished  subjects  for  mirth 
when  we  found  no  bones  or  wagons  broken.  Of  course, 
the  poor  brutes  are  slaughtered  without  mercy  by  In- 
dians and  emigrants.  "We  had  a  plentiful  supply  of 
buffalo  beef  during  four  weeks  of  our  journey.  The 
ravens  and  wolves  that  hover  over  and  around  every 
passing  train,  are  the  scavengers  which  clean  up  all 
that  is  left  of  the  slain  buffalo  after  man  has  helped 
himself  to  the  choicest  portions.  The  antelope  is  a 
very  graceful  animal,  and  bounds  over  the  plains  with 
the  fleetness  of  deer,  which  it  very  much  resembles. 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


17 


"We  saw  many  of  them,  but  they  do  not  collect  in  such 
herds  as  the  buffalo. 


SCENE    ON    THE    PLATTE. 


The  emigration  over  the  Plains  to  Utah,  California, 
and  Oregon,  for  the  last  few  years,  has  been  immense, 
and,  like  the  march  of  armies,  each  train  has  left  sad 
memorials  of  its  passage.  The  wayside  in  very  many 
places  is  literally  strewed  with  the  bones  of  oxen  and 
mules,  the  broken  fragments  of  wagons,  and  the  cast- 
off  implements  of  agriculture.  Sadder  still,  the  road 
is  lined  with  graves — some  small,  showing  that  there 
the  mother  has  been  compelled  to  deposit  the  remains 
of  her  infant  child,  and  others  of  sufficient  length  to 
show  that  the  strength  of  manhood  has  been  brought 
to  the  dust.  Many  of  these  graves  had  been  rifled  by 
the  wolves,  and  the  bones  scattered  around  in  confu- 


UTAH    AJND    THE    MORMONS. 


sion  :  these  resurrectionists  have  no  fear  of  penal  en- 
actments. Others  were  protected  from  these  prairie 
surgeons  by  logs  and  rocks  (every  thing  West,  from  a 
twenty  ton  boulder  to  a  pebble,  is  a  rock).  In  passing 
these  evidences  of  mortality,  one  can  form  some  faint 
conception  of  the  utter  feeling  of  desolation  which  must 
overwhelm  the  poor  wife,  thus  compelled  to  deposit 
her  husband  in  a  lonely  grave,  far  away  from  the  as- 
sistance and  sympathy  of  friends. 

"  The  Plains,"  so  called,  commence  at  the  western 
bounds  of  Missouri,  and  extend  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
Black  Hills,  a  distance  of  about  seven  hundred  miles. 
These  Plains  consist  mostly  of  rolling  prairies,  which 
are  crossed  by  numerous  streams.  Some  of  these 
streams  run  through  comparatively  deep  valleys,  and 
have  rocky  and  precipitous  banks.  Again,  the  Plains 
are  intersected  by  numerous  gulleys,  or  "pitch  holes" 
as  they  are  familiarly  called,  varying  from  ten  to  fifty 
feet,  which  contain  small  brooks  in  the  spring  and  early 
part  of  summer,  but  the  most  of  them  become  dry  later 
in  the  season.  These  gulleys  are  troublesome  to  cross, 
in  proportion  to  their  depth  and  the  steepness  of  their 
banks.  On  the  other  hand,  many  of  them  contain 
springs  of  excellent  water,  and  a  scanty  growth  of  tim- 
ber, furnishing  to  the  traveler  wood  and  water,  with- 
out which  he  could  not  long  prosecute  his  journey. 
At  some  points  the  Plains  are  almost  a  perfect  level, 
without  a  tree  or  a  shrub  to  relieve  the  eye  —  an  ocean, 
in  which  one  seems  to  be  out  of  sight  of  land. 

"We  reached  the  River  Platte  a  few  miles  east  of 
Fort  Kearney.  This  fort  is  commanded  by  Captain 
"Wharton,  a  gentlemanly  and  highly  intelligent  officer. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


19 


We  were  received  and  entertained  by  him  and  his  ac- 
complished lady  not  merely  with  generous  hospitality, 
but  with  as  much  warmth  as  though  we  had  been  near 
relatives.  At  this  point,  and  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance west,  the  Platte  runs  through  a  valley  from  five 
to  eight  miles,  bounded  by  a  low  range  of  sand-hills. 
The  country  becomes  more  and  more  interesting  from 
Fort  Kearney  westward.  The  sand-hills,  as  you  pro- 
gress up  the  stream,  are  more  bold  and  irregular,  until 
they  run  into  rugged  and  rocky  ranges,  worn  and  wash- 
ed into  sharp  peaks  and  every  variety  of  outline.  One 
of  the  most  singular  of  these  rocky  elevations  has  been 
called  the  "Court-house"  from  its  fancied  resemblance 


COURT-HOUSE   ROCK. 


to  a  public  building ;  but  it  is  a  misnomer  to  give  it 
so  common  a  name.  It  is  a  large  mass  of  reddish 
sandstone,  rising  abruptly  from  the  plain  in  solitary 
grandeur,  and  in  the  distance  looks  like  an  immense 


20 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


temple,  or  castle,  reared  to  some  heathen  divinity,  or 
by  some  feudal  baron  in  ages  gone  by,  but  now  in  a 
state  of  decay. 

Some  fifteen  miles  from  the  Court-house  you  see  the 
justly  celebrated  Chimney  Rock,  pointing  its  solitary 
column  to  the  sky,  and  from  which  you  every  moment 


CHIMNEY   KOCX. 


expect  to  see  issuing  smoke  or  jets  of  steam  from  the 
fancied  furnace  beneath.  Of  all  the  fantastic  freaks 
of  Dame  Nature  in  fashioning  natural  curiosities,  this 
is  certainly  the  strangest.  The  chimney  rises  some 
150  to  200  feet  from  the  apex  of  pyramidal-shaped 
rock,  all  reddish  sandstone.  But  this  curiosity  has 
been  well  described  in  many  published  journals,  and  I 
will  not,  therefore,  inflict  another  description  upon  the 
reader.  After  leaving  Chimney  Rock,  we  came  very 
soon  to  Scott's  Bluffs,  which  we  left  to  the  right,  and 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  21 


SCOTT'S   BLUFFS. 

passed  up  a  valley  lined  on  each  side  with  similar  cu- 
riosities. Here  was  a  castle  with  its  turrets  and  bat- 
tlements— there,  an  extensive  fort,  with  parapets  and 
bastions — and  yonder,  huge,  misshapen,  beetling  crags. 
One  formation  excited  especial  interest.  There  was 
first  a  gigantic  perpendicular  rock  in  the  form  of  a  cyl- 
inder, which  served  as  a  foundation,  on  which  arose  a 
smaller  rock  of  the  same  form,  and  on  that  a  third,  still 
smaller,  but  of  the  same  form.  It  looked  like  the  vast 
mausoleum  of  some  hero  of  a  past  race.  The  lover  of 
natural  scenery  feels  amply  paid  for  all  the  dangers,  in- 
conveniences, and  petty  annoyances  of  such  a  journey, 
while  viewing  these  curiosities,  scattered,  as  it  were, 
broadcast,  on  a  scale  of  such  magnificent  grandeur. 

Near  Fort  Laramie  the  highlands  commence ;  the 
country  is  broken  up  into  hills  and  irregular  promi- 


22  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

nences,  and  the  traveling  becomes  more  laborious. 
We  left  the  Platte  and  reached  the  Sweetwater,  a  few 
miles  east  of  Independence  Rock.  This  is  an  im- 
mense, irregular  pile  of  granite,  about  120  feet  high, 
and  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  in  circuit,  full 
of  seams  and  fissures.  I  climbed  to  the  top,  and  saw 


STEEPLE    ROCKS 


a  beautiful  hare,  which  soon  retreated  into  one  of  the 
numerous  cavities.  The  rock  is  literally  covered  with 
the  names  of  travelers ;  at  a  rough  guess,  there  must 
be  35,000  to  40,000 !  This  is  an  easy  way  of  hand- 
ing one's  name  down  to  posterity,  and  Thomas  Noakes 
stands  quite  as  good  a  chance  in  this  respect  as  the 
celebrated  John  Doe.  Let  any  one  who  is  puzzled  for 
a  name  visit  this  rock. 

The  Valley  of  the  Sweetwater  furnished  us  a  smooth, 
level  road  until  near  the  sources  of  the  river.     On  the 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


23 


north  side  are  the  Rattlesnake  Hills,  a  range  of  bare 
granite,  varying  from  500  to  1000  feet  high,  and  of 
precisely  the  same  character  as  Independence  Rock. 
It  is  cracked  and  seamed  at  all  points,  and  may  well 
be  the  resort  of  the  rattlesnake  for  a  thousand  years  to 
come.  For  some  days  before  we  reached  the  South 
Pass,  the  "Wind  River  Mountains,  with  their  snowy 
peaks  glittering  in  the  sunshine,  appeared  in  view. 
These  constitute  some  of  the  loftiest  portions  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  celebrated  South  Pass  proved 
to  be  somewhat  different  from  my  previous  conceptions. 
The  word  pass  induced  the  belief  that  it  partook  of  the 


DEVIL'S  GATE  (South  Pass). 


character  of  a  gorge  between  lofty  mountains ;  but  it 
is  quite  different  from  this.  The  country  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Fort  Laramie  to  the  summit  is  made  up  of 


24  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMON  S. 

ascending  highlands  ;  the  road  is  up  and  down,  but 
there  is  more  of  up  than  down.  Some  fifteen  to  twen- 
ty miles  from  the  summit,  the  highlands  become  more 
bold  and  difficult  of  ascent,  and  the  rocks  by  the  way 
side  crop  out  in  sharp,  perpendicular  points.  As  we 
approach  the  summit,  the  surface  becomes  more  even 
and  gently  rolling,  and  the  exact  dividing  point  is  pass- 
ed before  one  is  aware  of  it.  The  wind  was  high  and 
cold.  Some  twenty  miles  to  the  right  was  a  ridge  of 
high  hills,  and  further  still,  in  the  distance,  were  the 
Wind  River  Mountains.  On  the  left  were  irregular 
highlands.  There  is  something  exciting  in  the  idea 
that  one  is  passing  over  the  topmost  point  of  travel  in 
all  North  America,  and  near  which,  too,  as  from  a  radi- 
ating centre,  waters  arise  which  flow  into  three  mighty 
rivers,  the  Mississippi,  the  Columbia,  and  the  Colora- 
do. Some  ten  to  fifteen  miles  west  of  the  summit  the 
descent  is  very  obvious,  and  the  air  becomes  milder. 
On  the  Pacific  side,  the  mountains  above  referred  to 
are  magnificent  beyond  description ;  they  seemed,  in 
the  bright  sunshine,  like  immense  masses  of  thunder- 
clouds gathering  for  a  storm. 

From  the  South  Pass  to  the  Wasatch  Mountains, 
which  bound  the  Great  Basin  on  the  east,  the  country 
consists  mostly  of  rolling  plains,  quite  similar  to  tliose 
over  which  we  had  passed.  These  mountains  present 
the  most  fatiguing  and  difficult  portions  of  the  entire 
'journey.  It  was,  with  few  exceptions,  a  succession  of 
steep  ascents  and  descents,  and  narrow,  rocky  defiles ; 
but  the  scenery  was  alternately  beautiful  and  grand. 
The  Spanish  word  canon  (pronounced  canyon)  is  now 
the  familiar  designation  of  the  narrow  passes  through 


PARLEY'S  CANON. 


UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS. 


27 


the  mountains.  One  of  these,  called  Echo  Canon,  is 
twenty-five  miles  in  length,  terminates  on  the  "Weber 
River,  and  furnishes  a  nearly  level  road  the  whole  dis- 
tance. This  canon  is  half  a  mile  wide,  is  walled  in  by 
precipitous  ridges,  and  the  rocks,  in  many  places,  are 
worn  into  the  same  castellated  forms  so  common  in 
the  vicinity  of  Scott's  Bluffs.  In  one  place  the  rocks 
were  of  a  bright  straw  color,  and  the  reflection  pro- 
duced a  soft,  yellow  light.  "We  finally  descended  into 
the  Valley  of  Salt  Lake,  through  Parley's  Canon,  a 
dangerous  pass,  in  places  but  a  few  rods  wide,  and 
Walled  in  by  rocks  more  than  two  thousand  feet  high. 
In  a  military  point  of  view,  these  passes  might  be  de- 
fended by  a  handful  of  resolute  men  against  a  host. 

The  whole  route  presents  but  few  difficulties  on  ac- 
count of  the  Indians.     They  are  all  inveterate  thieves, 


DIGGERS   ON    THE    WATCH. 


28  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

from  the  Shawiiees  and  Potawatomies,  who  are  par- 
tially civilized,  to  the  most  degraded  Diggers ;  and  the 
traveler  must  use  a  reasonable  degree  of  vigilance  for 
the  safety  of  his  property.  The  Pawnees  are  the  most 
dreaded  of  any  on  the  route ;  they  are  fierce,  active, 
and  disposed  to  be  mischievous  when  they  encounter 
a  small,  unguarded  party,  and  can  safely  gratify  their 
thirst  for  plunder. 

The  Indians  generally  are  the  most  troublesome  beg- 
gars in  the  world,  and  will  importune  without  ceasing, 
unless  repulsed  with  some  degree  of  sternness.  "While 
encamped  one  day  near  Fort  Laramie,  a  large,  well- 
formed  Sioux,  known  by  the  name  of  "  Old  Smoke" 
stationed  himself  within  a  foot  of  me  while  eating  din- 
ner, and  fixed  his  gaze  upon  the  food  with  the  eager 
expression  of  a  hungry  dog.  At  every  mouthful  he 
would  say  "  goot"  "goot."-  This  was  not  very  appe- 
tizing, so  I  gave  the  old  rat  a  plateful  on  condition 
he  would  go  away.  He  readily  accepted  the  bribe, 
and  went  to  another  mess,  where  he  played  the  same 
maneuver  with  success. 

I  must  confess  I  have  no  very  exalted  opinion  of  the 
whole  race.  Their  broad  features,  wide  mouths,  low 
forehead^,  and  black,  snaky,  venomous  eyes,  make  up 
a  collection  of  disagreeables  which  they  manage  to 
heighten  by  paint,  filth,  and  outlandish  ornaments. 
Their  most  stylish  dandies  might  well  be  taken  for 
escaped  inmates  of  Bedlam.  Our  train  passed  two  vil- 
lages of  Chyenes,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Laramie — 
that  is,  two  collections  of  lodges,  made  up  of  lodge- 
poles  and  buffalo  robes  or  canvas.  The  whole  concern 
poured  out,  men,  women,  children,  cats,  dogs,  and 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  29 

horses,  and  surrounded  us — some  tricked  out  in  all 
their  scarecrow  finery,  and  others  ragged  almost  to 
nudity.  They  followed  us,  begging,  hooting,  scream- 
ing, howling,  and  barking,  for  a  mile.  It  might  re- 
mind one  of  Old  Picket's  denunciation,  in  which, 
among  other  choice  things,  he  hoped  the  soul  of  his 
antagonist  might  be  chased  "  by  a  tanner's  dog  around 
the  ragged  ramparts  of  damnation." 

It  is  no  doubt  the  duty  of  philanthropists  to  continue 
their  efforts  to  elevate  the  condition  of  the  children  of 
the  forest  and  the  plains  ;  yet  the  task  looks  well-nigh 
hopeless.  But  few  have  improved  under  these  benev- 
olent teachings,  and  the  balance  seem  destined  to  melt 
away  before  the  vigorous  advances  of  civilized  races. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TERRITORY    OF    UTAH. 

The  Great  Basin :  its  geographical  Features  and  Curiosities. — Great 
Salt  Lake. — Utah  Lake. — Iron  and  Coal. — Agricultural  Capacities 
and  Drawbacks. — Irrigation. — Alkaline  Salts. — Scarcity  of  Tim- 
ber.—  Political  Importance. —  Business. — Mr.  Livingston. — Great 
Salt  Lake  City.  —  "  Ensign  Peak."  —  Cities.  —  Health. — Improve- 
ments. 

THE  Territory  of  Utah  lies  between  latitude  37°  and 
42°,  and  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  eastern  base 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  on  the  east  by  the 
summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  contains  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand  square  miles. 
This  area  embraces  within  its  limits  not  only  the  Great 
Basin,  so  called,  but  that  portion  of  the  valleys  of 


30 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


Green  and  Grand  Rivers  and  their  tributaries  lying 
between  the  Wasatch  and  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
Great  Basin  constitutes  a  large,  and  decidedly  the 
most  interesting  portion  of  this  territory ;  and  is,  in 
more  aspects  than  one,  the  greatest  physical  wonder 
of  North  America.  Completely  walled  in  by  lofty 
mountains,  some  of  which  are  perpetually  robed  in 


VIEW   IN    THE    SIERRA   NEVADA. 


snow,  its  streams  and  rivers  flow  into  its  own  bosom, 
forming  lakes  of  various  dimensions,  from  which  the 
confluent  waters  escape  only  by  evaporation,  or  disap- 
pear in  sandy  deserts.  That  its  entire  surface  has  at 
some  period  been  covered  by  a  vast  inland  sea,  there 
are  many  indications  in  the  numerous  water-marks 
which  exhibit  their  traces  in  the  mountain  sides.  The 
bench  on  the  slope  of  which  the  Mormon  capital  is 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


built,  is  a  shore-mark  which,  in  the  clear  atmosphere, 
may  be  traced  by  the  eye  south,  along  the  base  of  the 
mountains,  a  distance  of  over  twenty  miles. 

The  Great  Basin  has  as  yet  been  but  partially  ex- 
plored. The  Mormon  settlements  extend  along  the 
base  of  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  from  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  Great  Salt  Lake  to  near  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  the  territory,  a  distance  of  some  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  The  usual  emigrant  route  to  Califor- 
nia from  Great  Salt  Lake  City  is  around  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  lake,  and  thence  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  down  the  valley  of  the  Humboldt,  or  Mary's 
River,  to  Carson's  Valley.  The  residue  remains  mostly 
unexplored.  The  portions  known  present  bold  and 
striking  features,  and  great  natural  curiosities.  It  has 
lofty  mountain  ranges,  rising  to  the  clouds,  some  of 
which  are  perpetually  capped  with  snow.  The  north- 
ern rim  of  the  basin  lies  much  farther  south  than  ap- 
pears from  Fremont's  map,  published  in  1849.  In 
passing  around  Salt  Lake  on  the  route  to  California, 
the  traveler  crosses  streams  which  flow  into  the  rivers 
of  Oregon,  and  does  not  pass  the  dividing  summit  until 
he  has  journeyed  some  forty  to  fifty  miles  south  of  the 
northern  end  of  the  lake.  While  toiling  over  these 
rugged  elevations,  the  lover  of  natural  scenery  enjoys 
the  grandeur  of  the  prospect  —  a  panorama  of  lofty 
ranges  and  peaks,  glittering  in  the  light  of  the  sun, 
and  extending  in  all  directions  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  Often  sharp  pyramidal  peaks,  rising  abruptly, 
exhibit  different  kinds  of  rock,  water-  worn  into  turret- 
ed,  castellated,  and  fantastic  forms.  The  rocks  are 
generally  primitive,  and  the  abundance  of  scoria  gives 


32 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


evidence  of  the  fiery  throes  which  the  earth  has  under- 
gone in  heaving  up  these  tremendous  elevations. 

There  is  probably  no  part  of  the  earth  where  so  rich 
a  field  is  presented  for  the  researches  of  the  naturalist. 
The  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  is  particularly  pro- 
lific in  natural  curiosities.  Springs,  from  the  one  hot 
enough  to  boil  an  egg  in  a  few  minutes,  to  the  one  of 
a  temperature  for  a  pleasant  warm  bath,  occur  every 
few  miles ;  and  these  are  generally  impregnated  with 
sulphur  in  combination  with  alkaline  salts.  Some  of 


HOT   SPRINGS    NEAR    SALT   LAKE    CITY. 


these  springs,  throwing  out  generous  volumes  of  water, 
form  ponds  from  one  to  three  miles  in  circuit,  in  which 
may  be  found,  attracted  by  the  genial  temperature,  tens 
of  thousands  of  water-fowl.  Some  of  them  are  cha- 
lybeate, and  coat  the  rocks  and  earth  over  which  they 
flow  with  oxyd  of  iron. 

Great  Salt  Lake  is  a  very  great  curiosity.      It  is 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  33 

about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  long,  and  from  sev- 
enty to  eighty  broad,  and  is,  as  near  as  may  be,  a  vast 
collection  of  brine.  The  water  seems  to  be  saturated 
with  salt  to  its  utmost  capacity  of  holding  it  in  solu- 
tion, indicating  the  neighborhood  of  great  deposits  of 
mineral  salt.  Between  Great  Salt  Lake  City  and  Bear 
River  is  a  spring  intensely  salt,  which  pours  out  a  vol- 
ume of  water  equal  to  that  at  Spring  Port,  on  the  east 
side  of  Cayuga  Lake,  which  it  very  much  resembles. 
This  is  probably  one  of  many  others  of  a  similar  char- 
acter which  pour  their  contents  into  the  lake.  At  par- 
ticular points  on  the  "beach,  where  the  regular  course 
of  the  winds  dashes  up  the  waves,  the  salt  collects  in 
such  quantities  as  to  be  conveniently  shoveled  into 
carts  for  domestic  use.  It  is  also  procured  by  evapora- 
tion, three  pails  of  the  water  producing  one  of  salt.  A 
person  bathing  may  sit  in  the  water,  rising  to  his  arm- 
pits, as  in  a  chair ;  but  let  him  beware  of  toppling  over, 
unless  he  wishes  to  encounter  the  risk  of  drowning 
"  heels  over  head."  The  water  is  perfectly  limpid,  and 
has  no  living  thing  beneath  its  saline  waves.  It  has 
many  islands  with  high  mountain  peaks,  among  the 
largest  of  which  is  Antelope  Island,  situated  so  near 
the  eastern  shore  as  to  be  accessible  for  grazing  pur- 
poses, for  which  it  is  extensively  used. 

Utah  Lake,  about  forty  miles  south  of  Salt  Lake, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  its  outlet,  the  River  Jor- 
dan, is  a  handsome  sheet  of  fresh  water,  some  fifteen 
miles  long  by  ten  broad,  and  abounds  with  the  finest 
salmon  trout.  In  approaching  it  from  the  north,  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan  narrows,  and  in  rounding  a  point 
about  seven  miles  from  the  lake,  a  grand  spectacle 
B2 


34  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

suddenly  bursts  upon  the  view  of  the  traveler.  The 
]ake  presents  itself  in  placid  beauty  below  him,  sur- 
rounded, .and  seemingly  completely  walled  in,  by  lofty 
mountains  covered  with  snow ;  and  it  is  not  until  he 
makes  its  circuit  that  he  discovers  a  broad  belt  of  lev- 
el arable  land  between  the  lake  and  these  mighty  ele- 
vations ;  nor  does  he  till  then  perceive  the  tremendous 
gorges  through  which  flow  the  Provo  River,  the  Span- 
ish Fork,  and  other  streams.  The  canon  of  the  Provo 
is  so  deep  and  extended  that  a  strong  wind  often  pours 
through  as  from  the  nozzle  of  a  blacksmith's  bellows, 
which  is  felt  for  a  distance  of  over  two  miles  in  pass- 
ing its  mouth. 

The  Great  Basin  is  rich  in  minerals,  among  which 
are  iron  and  coal,  found  in  Iron  county,  some  two  hund- 
red and  fifty  miles  south  of  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  in 
such  abundance  as  to  provide  an  adequate  supply  for 
the  future  wants  of  the  population.  Iron  has  hitherto 
been  supplied  from  the  thousands  of  wrecked  and 
abandoned  wagons  which  line  the  road  nearly  the 
whole  distance  from  Missouri  to  Oregon  and  Califor- 
nia. Gold  has  only  been  discovered  in  Carson  Valley, 
near  the  line  separating  Utah  from  California,  but 
there  are  strong  indications  that  it  abounds  in  other 
portions  of  the  Territory. 

In  regard  to  agricultural  capacity,  waste  undoubt- 
edly predominates  over  fertility,  except  in  river  bot- 
toms, or  in  localities  favorable  for  artificial  irrigation. 
The  Wasatch  range  contains  a  vast  number  of  deep 
and  rugged  gorges  or  canons,  through  each  of  which 
tumbles  a  mountain  stream,  fed  partly  by  springs, 
but  mostly  by  melting  snows.  Wherever  one  of  these 


UT  API  AND    THE    MORMONS.  35 

streams  rushes  out  upon  the  plains,  the  agriculturist 
can  turn  it  to  use  in  bringing  forth  the  fertility  of  the 
land.  Without  this  aid  he  would  plow  and  plant  in 
vain,  owing  to  the  sandy  nature  of  the  soil  and  the 
long  summer  droughts.  All  the  products  of  the  States 
in  the  same  latitude  can  in  this  mode  be  raised  in  great 
perfection.  The  vegetables  are  large,  and  generally  of 
superior  quality.  Those  portions  of  the  basin  not  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  rivers  and  streams  will  prob- 
ably be  found  entirely  unfit  for  cultivation. 

The  farmer  in  Utah  is  subject  to  some  heavy  draw- 
backs. The  necessity  of  irrigation  imposes  no  trifling 
addition  to  his  labors ;  water-ditches  are  to  be  cut  over 
and  through  his  land,  and  great  care  is  necessary  in 
their  proper  management.  In  some  places  where  wa- 
ter is  not  abundant,  the  neighbors  use  it  alternately, 
and  spend  the  night  as  well  as  the  day  in  distributing 
the  precious  moisture  over  their  fields. 

Again,  the  temperature  is  subject  to  very  sudden 
changes.  The  lowest  valley  in  this  elevated  region  is 
some  four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
and  the  surrounding  mountains  run  up  four  to  six 
thousand  feet  higher,  the  tops  of  which  are  covered 
with  snow  during  a  large  portion  of  the  year.  Of 
course,  the  shifting  winds  from  these  snowy  points  are 
not  only  violent,  but  of  an  icy  temperature,  and  the 
consequences  are  early  and  late  frosts,  and  often  a 
chilly  atmosphere  in  the  very  midst  of  summer.  The 
winds  blow  frequently  with  great  violence,  bringing 
up  now  and  then  terrible  storms,  accompanied  with 
thunder  and  lightning.  It  is  said  the  wind  is  some- 
times so  high  as  to  bring  spray  from  the  lake  to  the 
city,  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles ! 


36  UTAH   AND   THE  MORMONS. 

Another  serious  drawback  is  the  abundance  of  al- 
kaline salts,  or  saleratus,  in  the  soil.  This  is  a  mark- 
ed peculiarity  throughout  the  whole  territory,  as  far  as 
explored.  Sometimes  it  shows  itself  in  a  white  efflo- 
rescence on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  covering  whole 
acres  with  the  appearance  of  a  heavy  white  frost  or 
slight  fall  of  snow,  and  lumps  are  frequently  picked  up 
for  domestic  use.  Many  of  the  streams  are  so  strong- 
ly impregnated  with  it  as  to  make  it  dangerous  for 
cattle  to  drink  from  them.  Between  Salt  Lake  City 
and  the  lake,  numerous  pools  and  small  ponds  of  wa- 
ter may  be  found  of  the  color  and  nearly  of  the  taste 
of  common  ley,  from  the  same  cause.  This  property 
in  the  soil  is  beneficial  to  the  grasses,  and  makes  the 
extensive  pasture  ranges  equal  to  the  salt  marshes  on 
the  Atlantic  coast  for  cattle.  So  abundant  are  these 
salts,  that  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom  is  more  or  less 
affected  by  them;  some,  as  potatoes,  squashes,  and 
melons,  are  rendered  sweeter  and  more  palatable.  The 
common  pie-plant  loses  almost  entirely  its  acidity. 
Wherever  it  is  sufficiently  abundant  to  effloresce  upon 
the  surface,  it  totally  destroys  vegetation ;  and  I  heard 
of  sundry  fields  of  wheat  being  injured,  and  some  to- 
tally ruined,  by  its  sudden  appearance  after  the  crop 
was  half  grown.  In  some  cases,  a  good  crop  will  be 
raised  one  season  on  a  piece  of  land,  and  the  next  be 
entirely  destroyed  from  this  cause ;  and  many  of  the 
inhabitants  believe  that  it  can  not  be  exhausted  by  re- 
peated cultivation. 

Sugar  beets  are  raised  in  such  size  and  quantity  as 
to  suggest  the  idea  that  they  could  be  made  available 
in  the  manufacture  of  sugar.  Upon  this  suggestion, 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  37 

a  large  quantity  of  machinery  for  the  purpose  was  pur- 
chased in  Europe  in  1852,  and  taken  over  the  Plains 
in  the  fall  of  that  year.  The  whole  expense  exceeded 
$100,000,  and  was  contributed  principally  by  Mor- 
mons abroad,  in  connection  with  some  having  capital, 
who  had  but  recently  gathered  with  the  Saints,  under 
strong  encouragements  held  out  that  it  would  be  a 
profitable  investment.  The  machinery  was  put  into 
partial  operation  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1853,  and, 
owing  partly  to  want  of  skill  in  the  workmen,  but 
mostly  to  the  fact  that  the  beet  was  found  to  be  strong- 
ly impregnated  with  alkaline  salts,  the  article  manu- 
factured so  far  has  been  miserably  poor,  and  the  con- 
cern is  likely  to  prove  an  unfortunate  failure. 

Another  drawback  arises  from  the  great  scarcity  of 
timber.  The  Valley  of  Salt  Lake  is  nearly  as  bare  of 
trees  as  though  it  had  been  blasted  by  the  breath  of  a 
volcano.  A  few  of  the  mountain  streams  are  skirted 
with  a  scanty  growth  of  cotton- wood  and  aspen ;  some 
of  the  canons  have  a  small  quantity  of  maple ;  and  the 
mountain  sides  are  sparsely  supplied  with  stunted  ce- 
dar and  pine.  "Wood  for  fuel  in  the  city  can  only  be 
obtained  by  a  cartage  of  about  fifteen  miles,  from 
places  of  difficult  access,  and  the  price  ranges  from  ten 
to  fifteen  dollars  per  cord.  Timber  for  fencing,  build- 
ing, and  mechanical  purposes,  is  equally  difficult  to  be 
obtained,  and  bears  a  corresponding  price.  The  evil, 
too,  is  increasing ;  the  supply  is  becoming  more  and 
more  scanty,  and  in  comparatively  a  few  years,  unless 
the  coal  can  be  brought  into  general  use,  the  expenses 
of  living,  from  this  cause  alone,  must  be  greatly  en- 
hanced. The  Mormons  are  looking  forward  to  the  pe- 


38  UTAIIANDTHEMORMONS. 

riod  when  a  rail-road,  constructed  from  the  iron  found 
in  Iron  county,  will  be  the  means  of  distributing  the 
coal  found  in  the  same  region.  Some  efforts  have  been 
made  by  way  of  encouraging  the  manufacture  of  iron, 
and  the  excavation  of  the  coal-beds,  but  they  are  fee- 
ble and  tardy.  The  Saints  are  at  present  too  much 
engaged  in  building  the  Temple  to  devote  their  whole 
energies  to  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Ter- 
ritory. They  have  a  very  convenient  place  of  worship ; 
and  it  might  seem  that  the  Temple,  which,  from  the 
plan  of  its  construction,  promises  to  cost  a  round  mill- 
ion, might  be  postponed  to  the  growing  necessity  for  a 
permanent  supply  of  fuel.  But  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
one  item  of  their  creed  is,  that  their  friends  who  have 
died  out  of  the  pale  of  the  Church  may  be  baptized  by 
proxy,  and  thus  saved  from  Purgatory ;  and  that  this 
baptism  can  not  effectually  be  performed  except  in  the 
Temple.  It  is  hard  to  have  friends  in  infernal  durance, 
but  most  people  would  let  them  roast  a  little  longer, 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  freezing  themselves.  Those 
who  put  faith  in  this  absurdity  are,  of  course,  under 
the  strongest  possible  impulse  to  go  on  with  the  struc- 
ture ;  and  those  who  do  not  believe  in  it,  believe,  nev- 
ertheless, that  the  Temple  will  form  a  nucleus  around 
which  the  Saints  can  be  gathered  without  danger  of 
'dispersion. 

In  a  political  point  of  view,  the  settlement  of  this 
isolated  region  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  of 
great  importance,  as  the  half-way  house  between  the 
eastern  and  western  portions  of  the  continent.  The 
emigrant,  on  his  tedious  journey  to  Oregon  or  Califor- 
nia, becomes  weary  and  dispirited  when  he  reaches 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS.  39 

this  point — his  cattle  worn  down,  his  wagon  broken, 
and  his  provisions  exhausted.  Here  he  can  recruit, 
and  lay  in  new  supplies ;  and  it  seems  as  if  Providence 
had  overruled  the  Mormon  fanaticism  to  the  perform- 
ance of  uses  in  this  respect,  little  dreamed  of  by  the 
fugitive  Saints  when  they  made  it  their  abiding-place. 
The  benefits  derived  from  this  source  have  very  much 
promoted  the  prosperity  of  the  Mormons,  by  making  a 
market  for  their  surplus  grain,  and  furnishing  them 
with  supplies  otherwise  difficult  for  them  to  obtain. 
In  1850,  the  emigrants  were  very  numerous,  and  their 
wagons,  cattle,  tools,  farming  utensils,  and  household 
furniture,  which  were  got  along  to  this  point,  were 
sold  to  the  inhabitants  at  the  lowest  rates  in  exchange 
for  pack-animals  and  provisions.  Many  emigrants,  too, 
every  year,  become  utterly  destitute  at  this  point,  and 
are  compelled  to  labor  for  the  means  of  further  prose- 
cuting their  journey.  Hundreds  remain  all  winter, 
and  work  for  a  bare  living ;  and  a  large  number  of 
the  indications  of  industry  and  enterprise,  in  the  form 
of  buildings,  fences,  water-ditches,  and  other  improve- 
ments, for  which  the  Mormons  have  received  credit, 
owe  their  existence  to  the  toil  of  these  temporary  so- 
journers. 

The  legitimate  business  of  the  country  is  grazing. 
It  is  an  inland  region,  pent  up  between  lofty  mount- 
ains, and  is,  and  always  must  be,  without  commercial 
facilities.  Its  rivers  are  scarcely  navigable  to  any  ex- 
tent, and  its  lakes  can  never  connect  points  of  sufficient 
importance  to  make  them  available  in  this  respect; 
but  there  are  thousands  of  acres  which  produce,  in 
great  abundance,  nutritious  grasses,  upon  which  cat- 


40  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

tie,  horses,  and  mules  can  subsist  and  thrive  the  year 
round.  The  worn-down  animals  of  emigrants  are  pur- 
chased at  low  rates,  and,  after  being  recruited  upon 
these  extensive  ranges,  are  driven  to  a  sure  and  profit- 
able market  in  California,  where  enormous  profits  are 
usually  realized.  Some  of  the  finest  breeds  can  now 
be  found  in  Utah ;  and  this  business  is  beginning  to  be 
appreciated  as  the  most  lucrative  in  which  the  inhab- 
itants can  be  engaged. 

The  shrewd  merchant  lays  in  at  St.  Louis  a  stock  of 
goods  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  people  of  the  Basin, 
fits  up  a  train  of  wagons,  to  be  drawn  by  oxen  or  mules, 
and  wends  his  way  to  the  Mormon  capital.  At  Salt 
Lake,  in  exchange  for  goods  at  handsome  profits,  he 
collects  a  drove  of  cattle,  horses,  and  mules  for  Califor- 
nia. Hundreds  of  able-bodied  men,  wishing  to  seek 
their  fortunes  in  the  great  El  Dorado,  can  be  had  for 
the  mere  victualing,  to  assist  in  conducting  such  a 
train ;  and  the  entire  expenses  of  the  adventure  sink 
into  insignificance  in  comparison  to  the  heavy  profits 
realized  in  the  great  western  market.  Mr.  Livingston, 
of  the  firm  of  Livingston  and  Kinkead,  may  be  men- 
tioned as  a  pioneer  in  these  bold  enterprises.  He  es- 
tablished himself  at  Salt  Lake  City  in  1849,  in  an  ad- 
venture of  this  description,  which  seemed  doubly  haz- 
ardous to  his  friends,  from  the  remoteness  of  the  region 
and  the  character  of  the  inhabitants.  It  was  an  ex- 
periment, but  he  plunged  boldly  into  it ;  and  by  liberal 
dealing,  strict  mercantile  honor,  great  firmness,  and 
far-reaching  sagacity,  has,  though  anti-Mormon  so  far 
as  religious  views  are  concerned,  gained  a  healthy  in- 
fluence with  the  population,  and  established  this  kind 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


of  business  upon  its  proper  basis.  His  numerous  ad- 
ventures by  "  flood  and  field"  make  him  an  interesting 
companion;  and  many,  compelled  to  a  winter's  resi- 
dence in  that  out-of-the-way  part  of  the  earth,  have 
been  laid  under  deep  obligations  for  his  numerous  kind- 
nesses. 

If  the  design  of  the  Mormon  rulers  in  selecting  the 
Great  Basin  as  the  seat  of  their  power  was  to  isolate 
their  people  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  they  certainly 
made  a  happy  choice.  The  Mormon  capital  is  unap- 
proachable from  any  civilized  point  except  by  a  tedious 
journey  of  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  miles. 
In  a  severe  winter  it  is  entirely  inaccessible  :  the  mount- 
ain passes  then  lay  in  so  bountiful  a  supply  of  snow 
as  to  set  human  perseverance  at  defiance  ;  and  the 
luckless  sojourner,  who  has  been  accustomed  to  his 
daily  paper,  must  content  himself  with  speculations  as 
to  events  transpiring  in  the  outside  world  for  three  or 
four  months.  This  isolation  has  its  conveniences  and 
inconveniences  ;  it  protects  the  Saints  from  G-entile  in- 
fluence or  persecution,  and  enables  the  leaders  to  carry 
out,  without  let.  or  hinderance,  the  most  singular  exper- 
iments upon  human  superstition  and  credulity  which 
have  been  witnessed  since  the  Dark  Ages.  But  the 
expenses  of  living  are  great  :  every  thing  which  can 
not  be  raised  from  the  soil,  and  which  the  customs  of 
civilized  life  have  rendered  necessary  to  eat,  drink,  and 
wear,  cost  at  least  four  times  as  much  as  in  the  States, 
owing  to  the  great  land  transportation. 

Great  Salt  Lake  City  presents  a  very  singular  ap- 
pearance to  the  eye  of  a  stranger.  It  is  built  of  adobe 
or  sun-dried  bricks,  and  is  of  a  uniform  lead  color,  with 


42  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

the  single  exception  of  the  house  of  Brigham  Young, 
the  prophet  and  seer,  which  is  white,  and  standing  on 
the  most  prominent  point  in  the  city,  may  "be  seen  at 
a  great  distance.  The  streets  are  eight  rods  wide,  and 
cross  each  other  at  right  angles.  Each  block  contains 
ten  acres,  and  is  divided  into  eight  lots  of  an  acre  and 
a  quarter  to  a  lot.  Of  course,  the  city,  which  contains 
a  population  of  about  eight  thousand,  is  scattered  over 
a  very  large  area.  It  is  built  partly  on  the  slope  of  the 
lowest  mountain  bench,  at  a  point  where  the  Wasatch 
range  turns  to  the  north  after  running  six  or  seven 
miles  westerly,  and  is  twenty-two  miles  east  from  the 
lake.  A  mountain  stream  called,  "  City  Creek,"  orig- 
inally ran  through  the  centre  of  the  town,  but  by  nu- 
merous ditches  its  water  is  distributed  through  almost 
every  street,  according  to  the  inclination  of  the  land. 
The  buildings  are  very  ordinary  in  their  style  of  con- 
struction, generally  of  one  story,  and  are,  many  of  them, 


MORMON    HAREM. 


mere  huts.      It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  a  long,  low 
building,  with  from  two  to  half  a  dozen  entrances, 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


43 


which  is  a  sure  indication  that  the  owner  is  the  hus- 
band of  sundry  wives,  after  the  fashion  of  the  prophet 
Joseph.  There  are  a  few  dwellings  of  a  larger  class 
and  fair  appearance,  among  which  are  those  of  Brigham 
Young,  already  mentioned,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  Parley 
P.  Platt,  Ezra  T.  Benson,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the 
Mormon  hierarchy. 

The  public  buildings  are  few — the  Council  House, 
where  the  Legislative  Assembly  and  courts  are  held ; 
the  Tithing-office,  where  tithes  are  received,  in  a  room 


TITHING-OFFICE. 


of  which  is  the  Post-office ;  the  Social  Hall,  where 
theatrical  performances  are  had,  and  in  which  the 
Saints  are  accommodated  with  conveniences  for  danc- 
ing and  social  parties ;  and  the  Tabernacle,  a  long,  low 
building  on  Temple  Block,  the  Mormon  place  of  wor- 


44  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

ship,  very  large  on  the  ground,  and  capable  of  seating 
an  audience  of  three  thousand. 

Temple  Block  contains  the  usual  complement  of 
eight  acres,  and,  besides  the  Tabernacle,  has  a  range  of 
work-shops  belonging  to  the  Church,  in  which  various 
mechanical  employments  are  carried  on.  A  wall  is 
being  built  around  the  whole  block,  and  excavations 
were  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1853  for  the  erection 
of  a  temple  which  is  to  be  the  future  glory  and  pride 
of  all  Mormondom.  It  is  designed  to  be  two  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  long  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  wide, 
with  walls  six  feet  thick.  The  excavation  in  the  centre 
for  a  baptismal  font  is  twenty  feet  deep.  This  grand 
structure  is  building,  as  all  credulous  Mormons  believe, 
after  a  plan  revealed  to  the  prophet  Brigham  from 
heaven,  and  is  to  consist  of  three  parts,  corresponding 
to  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  are  the  three  glo- 
ries or  degrees  of  salvation  in  store  for  all  true  Latter- 
day  Saints. 

North  of  the  city  is  a  singular  conical-shaped  point 
called  "  Ensign  Peak,"  which  may  be  reached  by  a  fa- 
tiguing walk  of  about  two  miles.  This  prominence 
must  be  about  four  thousand  feet  above  the  plain,  and 
commands  a  magnificent  prospect.  The  city  lies  be- 
neath as  on  a  map :  the  Jordan  may  be  traced,  like  a 
small  silver  thread,  winding  its  way  through  the  valley 
until  lost  in  the  lake ;  the  latter  is  seen  to  stretch  away 
in  the  distance  between  the  islands  which  rise  from  its 
bosom ;  beyond  may  be  seen  a  snowy  range,  which  the 
traveler  must  surmount  in  his  journey  to  California ; 
and  in  a  southern  direction,  mountains  are  beheld  to 
rise  above  mountains  far  beyond  Utah  Lake,  clothed 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 


45 


in  their  everlasting  mantle  of  white,  the  whole  leav- 
ing upon  the  mind  of  the  beholder  an  impress  of  gran- 
deur which  language  utterly  fails  to  describe. 


ISLANDS    IN    SALT   LAKE. 


The  Mormons  make  a  formidable  display  of  cities 
upon  paper.  Great  Salt  Lake  City  contains  about 
8000  inhabitants,  Provo  some  1400,  and  Springville 
about  700.  Aside  from  these,  their  cities  are  greatly 
more  distinguished  for  the  oddity  of  their  names  than 
the  number  of  their  citizens— -such  as  Lehi,  Manti, 
Nephi,  &c. — names  which  belonged  to  various  wor- 
thies who  figured  in  the  history  of  by-gone  things 
supposed  to  have  been  exhumed  by  the  prophet  Joseph. 
Another  oddity  is,  that  these  cities  are  accommodated 
with  the  very  longest  acts  of  incorporation,  embracing 
all  the  municipal  machinery  of  mayor,  aldermen,  police 
justices,  provisions  regulating  hacks,  lighting  streets, 
sewerage,  and  other  things  too  numerous  to  mention 


46  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMON  S. 

— something  like  the  rustic  grandson  incased  in  the 
long-tailed  coat  of  his  ancestor,  greatly  too  large  for  his 
dimensions.  The  city  of  Lehi,  on  Utah  Lake,  which 
I  was  enabled  to  visit,  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  rest ; 
some  twenty  wretched  mud  huts,  scattered  over  an 
area  of  two  or  three  miles,  with  a  population  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred,  made  up  the  whole  affair.  Why 
the  Saints  take  so  much  pains  to  make  cities  upon  pa- 
per, unless  by  way  of  "handbill"  to  convey  exaggerated 
notions  abroad  of  their  progress  and  prosperity,  it  is 
very  difficult  to  perceive.  The  entire  population  of 
the  Territory  in  the  spring  of  1853  could  not  have  va- 
ried much  from  twenty-five  thousand ;  Orson  Pratt,  in 
"  The  Seer,"  states  it  at  from  "  thirty  to  thirty-five 
thousand." 

From  its  great  elevation,  and  pure  and  bracing  at- 
mosphere, any  one,  reasoning  from  natural  causes, 
would  expect  to  find  the  Valley  of  Salt  Lake  one  of 
the  healthiest  regions  in  the  world.  The  very  reverse, 
however,  seems  to  be  the  case.  Sickness  is  very  com- 
mon, and  mortality  great.  The  report  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Census  for  December,  1850  (p.  140), 
exhibits  Utah  the  very  lowest  in  the  list  of  compar- 
ative health  of  all  the  states  and  territories  except 
Louisiana.  That  such  a  result  can  not  be  owing  to 
the  privation  and  suffering  incident  to  new  settlements 
by  emigration,  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  while  one 
death  occurred  in  47^  in  the  population  of  Utah  for 
the  year  ending  June  1,  1850,  only  one  in  232^  oc- 
curred in  Oregon.  Whether  it  is  the  fault  of  the  cli- 
mate and  the  qualities  of  the  soil,  or  of  the  peculiar 
customs  and  habits  of  the  people,  remains  to  be  tested 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  47 

by  further  observation.  All  these  causes  may  have 
their  agency  in  the  result. 

The  alkaline  properties  of  the  soil  are,  with  good 
reason,  supposed  to  promote  erysipelas  and  scrofulous 
diseases.  The  gross  sensualities  originating  in  poly- 
gamy, coupled  with  parental  neglect  of  offspring,  occa- 
sion great  mortality  among  children.  To  these  may 
be  added  intemperance  in  drinking,  very  generally  dif- 
fused, and  which  finds  its  gratification  in  a  miserable 
article  of  whisky  and  beer,  manufactured  in  great 
quantities. 

"When  we  regard  the  extended  settlements  made, 
the  lands  brought  under  cultivation,  and  the  cities 
built  within  a  brief  period  in  this  heretofore  desolate 
region,  it  seems  to  us  next  to  miraculous,  and  we  are 
very  much  inclined  to  look  upon  the  Mormons  as  an 
uncommonly  industrious  and  enterprising  race  of  men. 
Much,  however,  is  due  to  emigrant  labor,  already  al- 
luded to,  and  much  more  to  the  effect  of  contrast. 
After  passing  over  the  Plains,  and  for  weary  days  and 
weeks  meeting  with  no  human  habitations  but  Indian 
lodges,  Canadian-French  trading-posts,  and  two  mili- 
tary stations,  the  traveler  is  greatly  delighted  when  he 
descends  into  the  valley  through  one  of  the  tremendous 
mountain  gorges,  enters  a  regularly-built  city,  and 
finds  the  necessaries  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  civ- 
ilized life.  All  is  for  a  time  coleur  de  rose,  and  his 
descriptions  are  apt  to  be  tinged  with  a  similar  hue. 
The  mere  surface  of  society  is  found  to  be  similar  to 
that  of  many  other  recently-established  communities, 
and  it  needs  a  residence  of  more  than  a  few  days  or 
weeks  to  lift  the  curtain  and  view  things  as  they  are. 


48  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMON-S. 

Without  detracting  in  the  least  from  the  commend- 
able enterprise  of  the  Saints,  it  may  reasonably  be  said 
that  any  other  body  of  American  farmers,  mechanics, 
artisans,  and  laborers,  of  equal  numbers,  would  have 
effected  more,  because  the  means  expended  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  temple,  and  in  the  support  of  a  numerous 
priesthood  with  their  harems,  would  be  turned  in  a 
more  useful  direction.  Much  of  the  marvel  lies  in  two 
facts :  first,  the  entire  community  have  been  transfer- 
red there  nearly  at  once,  without  waiting  for  the  te- 
dious process  of  a  gradual  settlement;  and,  second, 
all  their  energies,  stimulated  by  religious  enthusiasm, 
have  been  measurably  directed  by  a  single  will.  The 
real  miracle  consists  in  so  large  a  body  of  men  and 
women,  in  a  civilized  land,  and  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, being  brought  under,  governed,  and  controlled  by 
such  gross  religious  imposture.  As  the  Great  Basin 
is  the  greatest  physical,  so  its  inhabitants  may  be  said 
to  be  the  greatest  moral,  curiosity  of  the  New  "World. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  49 


CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORY  OF   MORMONISM. 

Theories  in  regard  to  Origin  of  Indians. — Solomon  Spaulding. — His 
"Manuscript  Found." — Sidney  Rigdon. — Joseph  Smith,  Jr. — His 
Parentage  and  early  Habits. — Discovers  some  curious  Antiquities. 
— Golden  Bible  discovered  and  translated. — Characters  submitted  to 
Professor  Anthon. — His  Letter. 

THE  antiquities  of  the  Old  "World — its  pyramids, 
ruined  cities,  dilapidated  baronial  castles,  broken  shafts 
and  columns — are,  with  few  exceptions,  of  well-known 
historical  periods.  They  serve  to  illustrate  the  various 
phases,  from  barbarism  to  civilization,  through  which 
mankind  from  distant  eras  have  passed ;  and  there  is 
enough  of  obscurity  and  myth  in  their  history  to  ren- 
der their  study  interesting  to  the  antiquary. 

The  case  is  entirely  different  with  the  New  World. 
Its  history,  anterior  to  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  is 
involved  in  a  mystery  more  impenetrable  than  the  past 
physical  changes  of  the  globe.  The  latter  are  meas- 
urably illustrated  by  the  various  formations  which 
compose  the  earth's  crust,  and  the  fossil  remains  which 
lie  imbedded  in  its  strata,  while  the  former  is  lost  in 
the  confused,  absurd,  and  contradictory  traditions  of 
its  barbarous  native  population.  There  are  the  re- 
mains of  ruined  cities  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Isth- 
mus of  Panama ;  but,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  earlier 
discoverers  of  America,  these  cities  are  comparatively 
of  modern  origin.  There  are  also  hieroglyphics,  glyphs, 

C 


50  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

mounds,  obscure  traces  of  fortifications,  &c.,  all  exhib- 
iting the  existence  of  a  people  but  little  in  advance  of 
the  barbarous  and  semi-barbarous  tribes  and  nations 
found  by  the  original  discoverers.  Where  these  peo- 
ple came  from — how  many  states  and  nations  had  ex- 
isted among  them— -through  what  changes,  revolution- 
ary or  otherwise,  they  had  passed,  are  things  involved 
in  obscurity,  to  penetrate  which  the  ingenuity  and  im- 
agination of  many  persons  have  been  exercised  from 
the  time  of  Columbus  to  the  present.  A  favorite  the- 
ory, in  support  of  which  much  learning  and  acuteness 
have  been  manifested,  has  been  to  people  the  North 
American  Continent  from  the  wandering  tribes  of  Is- 
rael. 

In  or  about  the  year  1809,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Solomon  Spaulding,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College, 
removed  from  Cherry  Yalley,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
to  New  Salem  (Conneaught),  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio. 
At  one  period  of  his  life  he  was  a  clergyman,  but  seems 
to  have  laid  aside  that  profession  for  secular  business, 
in  which  he  failed,  and  his  bankruptcy  was  the  imme- 
diate motive  of  his  removal  to  Ohio. 

New  Salem,  or  Conneaught,  as  it  is  sometimes  call- 
ed, is  rich  in  American  antiquities — mounds,  fortifica- 
tions, and  sundry  relics  of  a  past  race,  in  which  Spauld- 
ing, who  was  a  man  of  learning  and  imagination,  took 
an  unusual  interest.  He  adopted  the  theory  which 
peoples  America  from  the  Israelites,  and  readily  con- 
ceived and  carried  out  the  idea  of  writing  a  fictitious 
history  of  this  ancient  race,  influenced  partly  by  his 
literary  tastes,  and  partly  by  the  hope  of  making  mon- 
ey by  the  sale  of  the  book.  His  work  was  styled  tho 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


"Manuscript  Found"  and  purported  to  be  the  trans- 
lation of  an  ancient  manuscript  found  by  him  ;  and  to 
make  the  story  as  consistent  as  possible,  he  endeavor- 
ed to  imitate  the  style  of  the  Scriptures,  in  which  he 
was  aided  by  his  previous  biblical  studies.  He  de- 
scribes the  departure  of  a  family  of  Jews  —  the  father, 
Lehi,  and  four  sons,  Laman,  Lemuel,  Sam,  and  Nephi, 
with  their  wives  —  from  Jerusalem  into  the  wilderness, 
in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  and,  after  various  wander- 
ings, their  voyage  to  the  Western  Continent,  under  the 
leadership  of  Nephi,  one  of  the  brothers.  On  their 
journey  and  voyage  they  became  distracted  by  dissen- 
sions, which  in  America  resulted  in  their  division  into 
hostile  tribes,  which  branched  out  and  populated  the 
country,  built  up  large  cities,  engaged  in  fierce  wars, 
and  underwent  various  changes  and  revolutions.  La- 
man appears  to  have  been  the  focus  of  disaffection  in 
this  imaginary  family,  and  his  descendants  became  a 
very  powerful  nation  or  tribe,  under  the  name  of  La- 
manites,  engaging  frequently  in  wars,  and  destroying 
the  country  and  cities  of  the  more  peaceable  Nephites. 
The  frequency  of  these  wars  eventually  broke  up  and 
destroyed  the  regular  avocations  of  peace  ;  the  people 
became  barbarized,  and  split  up  into  predatory  bands, 
plundering  and  murdering  each  other,  until,  in  fine, 
they  degenerated  into  the  vagabond  Indians  of  the 
American  Continent.  Besides  the  names  already  men- 
tioned, the  names  of  Mormon,  Moroni,  Mosiah,  Hela- 
man,  and  others,  frequently  occur  in  the  book,  and  rep- 
resent the  heroes,  prophets,  and  great  men  who  figured 
in  this  drama.  As  Spaulding  progressed  with  his  work, 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  amusing  himself  and  sundry  of 


52  UTAH   AND    THE.  MORMONS. 

his  neighbors  by  reading  to  them  his  manuscript,  and 
availed  himself  of  their  observations  in  making  emen- 
dations and  additions.  He  labored  upon  it  for  about 
three  years,  at  the  end  of  which,  in  1812,  he  removed 
to  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  he  became  intimate  with  a 
printer  by  the  name  of  Patterson,  in  whose  hands  he 
placed  the  manuscript,  with  the  design  of  having  it  pub- 
lished, and  with  him  it  remained  a  number  of  years. 

Sidney  Rigdon,  a  man  of  some  versatility — a  kind 
of  religious  Ishmaelite  —  sometimes  a  Campbellite 
preacher,  and  sometimes  a  printer,  and  at  all  times 
fond  of  technical  disputations  in  theology — was  at  this 
time  in  the  employment  of  Patterson,  and  became  so 
much  interested  in  the  "Manuscript  Found"  as  to 
copy  it,  "  as  he  himself  has  frequently  stated." 

No  satisfactory  contract  appears  to  have  been  made 
for  the  printing ;  at  least,  it  was  delayed,  for  some  rea- 
son or  other,  until  Spaulding  found  it  necessary  to  re- 
move from  Pittsburg  to  Amity,  in  "Washington  county, 
New  York,  where  he  died  in  1816.  What  subsequent- 
ly became  of  the  original  manuscript  does  not  very  dis- 
tinctly appear,  owing  to  the  death  of  Spaulding,  and 
also  that  of  Patterson  in  1826.  According  to  a  state- 
ment of  Mrs.  Spaulding,  made  in  1839,  it  was  taken 
from  Pittsburg  by  her  husband,  and  after  his  death  re- 
mained in  her  hands,  with  other  of  his  papers,  in  a 
trunk.  She  subsequently  remarried,  and  this  trunk, 
with  the  manuscript,  was  left  in  Otsego  county ;  but 
on  search  being  made,  in  or  about  the  year  1839,  by 
some  persons  interested  in  exposing  the  pretensions  of 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  then  attracting  some  attention,  the 
important  document  was  not  to  be  found. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMON  S.  53 

In  tho  year  1815,  the  father  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr., 
removed  with  his  family  of  boys  from  the  county  of 
Windsor,  Vermont,  to  Palmyra,  New  York,  from  which 
he  subsequently  removed  to  Manchester,  in  the  county 
of  Ontario,  remaining  in  both  places  about  eleven  years. 
He  was  a  laboring  man,  and  professed  to  be  a  farmer, 
but  he  manufactured  and  peddled  baskets  and  wooden 
bowls,  and,  withal,  his  employments  appear  to  have 
been  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  not  very  consistent 
with  regular  industry.  The  members  of  the  family 
were  held  in  light  estimation  by  their  neighbors,  some 
of  whom  subsequently  described  them  as  "  notorious 
for  breach  of  contracts  and  the  repudiation  of  their 
honest  debts." 

Joseph,  Jr.,  was  ten  years  old  when  the  family  first 
settled  in  Palmyra,  and,  as  represented  by  those  hostile 
to  his  subsequent  pretensions,  he  grew  up  among  bad 
associates,  totally  averse  to  any  thing  in  the  shape  of 
regular  industry,  and  a  ready  adept  in  the  art  of  "  liv- 
ing by  one's  wits."  His  physiognomy  indicated  sen- 
suality and  cunning,  in  which  latter  trait  his  mind  was 
unusually  versatile.  He  affected  great  mystery  in  his 
movements ;  pretended  to  the  gift  of  discovering  hid- 
den treasures,  and  the  possession  of  seer-stones  by 
which  they  could  be  found ;  traveled  about  the  coun- 
try, appearing  and  disappearing  in  a  mysterious  man- 
ner ;  possessed  a  plausible  and  wordy  jargon,  by  which 
many  minds  are  easily  captivated;  and,  in  various 
ways,  cheated  and  robbed  sundry  simpletons,  who  were 
persuaded  to  credit  his  pretensions.  Nor  did  he  con- 
fine his  attention  to  any  single  branch  of  the  business 
of  deception,  but  allowed  himself  to  be  drawn  into  the 


54  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

vortex  of  a  pseudo-religious  revival,  and  became  quito 
as  wordy  in  the  vocabulary  of  hypocritical  cant. 

On  the  other  hand,  his  subsequent  fdlowers  allege, 
that,  though  of  very  humble  origin,  and  of  extremely 
limited  education,  he  was  of  retired  habits,  and  reli- 
giously disposed  ;  that,  as  early  as  fifteen  years  of  age, 
"  he  began  seriously  to  reflect  upon  the  necessity  of 
being  prepared  for  a  future  state  of  existence,  spend- 
ing much  of  his  time  in  prayer  and  other  acts  of  devo- 
tion." They  do  not  deny  that  he  may,  in  common 
parlance,  have  been  a  "  money '-digger ;"  but  claim 
that,  whatever  had  been  the  character  of  his  occupa- 
tions, or  the  method  of  their  performance,  he  was  af- 
terward rendered  pure  by  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins. 
Which  is  the  true  and  which  the  false  construction  of 
the  early  character  of  this  remarkable  man,  depends, 
of  course,  upon  the  evidence  furnished  by  his  subse- 
quent career. 

During  Smith's  searching  operations  for  the  discov- 
ery of  hidden  treasures,  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
he  exhumed  one  or  more  of  those  curious  glyphs 
which  now  figure  so  largely  in  the  list  of  American 
antiquities.  These  consist  of  metallic  plates,  covered 
with  hierog]yphical  characters.  Professor  Hafinesque, 
in  his  Asiatic  Journal  for  1832,  describes  similar  plates 
found  by  him  in  Mexico  as  being  "  written  from  top 
to  bottom,  like  the  Chinese,  or  from  side  to  side  indif- 
ferently, like  the  Egyptian  and  the  Demotic  Libyan." 
A  number  of  these  remains  were  found  in  1843,  near 
Kinderhook,  Pike  county,  Illinois,  and  described  as  "  six 
plates  of  brass  of  a  bell  shape,  each  having  a  hole  near 
the  small  end,  and  a  ring  through  all,  and  clasped  with 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  55 

two  clasps.  The  ring  and  clasps  appeared  to  be  iron, 
very  much  oxydated.  The  plates  first  appeared  to  be 
copper,  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  covered  with 
characters.  A  subsequent  cleansing  by  sulphuric  acid 
brought  out  the  characters  distinctly."  It  seems  to  bo 
strongly  confirmed  that  Smith  discovered  one  of  these 
singular  specimens  of  American  antiquity,  in  the  fact 
that,  soon  after  the  alleged  discovery  of  the  golden  Bi- 
ble, lie  sent  Martin  Harris  to  Professor  Anthon  with 
characters  which,  according  to  the  professor's  descrip- 
tion, are  identical  with  those  which  appear  upon 
them. 

In  the  course  of  his  wanderings,  Smith  met  with, 
and  formed  the  acquaintance  of,  Sidney  Rigdon.  Ac- 
cording to  that  view  of  the  case  which  proceeds  upon 
the  hypothesis  that  he  was  an  impostor,  it  would  not 
be  unreasonable  to  believe  that  these  two  men  togeth- 
er conceived  the  idea  of  starting  a  system  of  religious 
imposture  upon  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  popu- 
lar credulity.  Conjointly  they  possessed,  in  mercantile 
phrase,  the  requisite  capital  for  such  an  adventure. 
Smith  had  cunning,  plausible  volubility,  seer  stones, 
mysterious  antiquities,  and,  withal,  the  prestige  of  suc- 
cess ;  Sidney  was  versed  in  the  "  lights  and  shadows" 
of  religious  verbiage,  had  some  literary  pretensions, 
was  a  printer,  and,  above  all,  had  a  copy  of  Spaulding's 
book.  Which  started  the  bright  idea  of  the  Golden  Bi- 
ble is  not  known,  though  in  all  likelihood  the  credit  is 
due  to  Smith,  as  he  ever  after  maintained  the  ascenden- 
cy in  the  new  hierarchy.  After  the  plan  had  assumed 
a  definite  form  and  shape  in  the  minds  of  the  origina- 
tors, it  was  easy  for  Joseph,  in  his  perambulations,  to 


56  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

trace  out  and  secure  the  original  manuscript  of  Spaul- 
ding,  to  guard  the  intended  scheme  from  exposure,  and 
the  lapse  of  time  and  death  of  many  of  the  parties 
seemed  to  make  it  safe  to  dispense  with  any  alteration 
of  names  in  the  new  Bible.  To  Smith  was  reserved 
the  honor  of  making  the  first  open  demonstration,  be- 
cause success  in  deception  had  rendered  him  bold  and 
skillful.  Sidney  was  not  to  come  in  until  some  time 
afterward,  and  then  ostensibly  as  a  convert  to  the  new 
religion ;  this  would  give  time  to  see  what  kind  of  an 
earthquake  the  mixture  of  iron  filings  and  sulphur 
was  likely  to  produce,  and  his  conversion  would  help 
to  increase  the  commotion.  Accordingly,  we  find  him 
striking  his  colors  to  the  first  broadside  of  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  one  of  the  earliest  Mormon  preachers.  All  things 
being  in  readiness,  Smith,  in  due  season,  emerged  from 
the  chrysalis  of  a  money-digger  to  the  butterfly  of  a 
prophet  and  herald  of  a  new  dispensation.  A  portion 
of  mankind  have  been  looking  for  the  last  days  for  the 
past  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  at  the  period  in  ques- 
tion were  ready  to  run  into  Millerism  or  any  other 
ism  whereby  their  notions  could  be  accommodated  in 
this  respect.  A  prophet,  therefore,  who  could  super- 
add  to  the  discovery  of  a  golden  Bible  a  proclamation 
of  the  speedy  destruction  of  all  mundane  things,  a 
power  of  attorney  for  the  restoration  of  an  authorized 
priesthood  and  the  gathering  of  the  Saints,  and  make 
a  formidable  display  of  miraculous  powers,  was  the 
most  acceptable  gift  which  could  be  made  to  popular 
superstition.  Here,  then,  would  seem  to  have  been 
combined  the  elements  of  an  imposture  which  has 
since  branched  out  and  gathered  strength,  until  it  has 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  57 

become  the  most  noted  instance  in  modern  times  of 
the  development  and  growth  of  religious  fanaticism. 

But  those  who  regard  the  new  system  with  more 
favor  take  n  very  different  view  of  the  case.  In  the 
light  in  which  they  regard  it,  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  in  or 
about  the  year  1820,  had  a  kind  of  preparatory  vision, 
while  he  was  in  a  retired  place  engaged  in  prayer  >  in 
which  two  glorious  personages  appeared  to  him,  and 
informed  him  that  his  sins  were  forgiven  him,  and 
"that  all  the  religious  denominations  were  believing 
in  incorrect  doctrines,  and  consequently  that  none  of 
them  was  acknowledged  of  God  as  his  Church  and 
kingdom;"  and  he  " received  a  promise  that  the  true 
doctrine  and  the  fullness  of  the  Gospel  should  at  some 
future  time  be  revealed  to  him."  After  this  he  fell 
away  somewhat,  but  repented,  and  on  the  22d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1823,  had  another  vision,  in  which  an  angel 
appeared,  and  announced  to  him  that  he  was  to  be  the 
chosen  instrument  of  introducing  a  new  dispensation ; 
that  the  American  Indians  were  a  remnant  of  the 
Israelites,  who,  after  emigrating  to  this  country,  had 
their  prophets  and  inspired  writings;  that  such  of 
these  writings  as  had  not  been  destroyed  were  safely 
deposited  in  a  certain  place  ;  that  they  contained  rev- 
elations in  regard  to  the  last  days ;  and  that,  if  he  re- 
mained faithful,  he  would  be  the  chosen  instrument  to 
translate  them. 

The  next  day  "  the  angel  again  appeared,  and  having 
been  informed  by  the  previous  visions  of  the  night  con- 
cerning the  place  where  these  records  were  deposited, 
he  was  instructed  to  go  immediately  and  view  them." 
Accordingly,  the  new-born  prophet  repaired  to  a  hill 
C2 


58  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

about  four  miles  from  Palmyra,  on  the  west  side  of 
which  he  dug  down  and  found  a  stone  box,  so  firmly 
cemented  that  the  moisture  could  not  enter.  In  this 
box  the  records  were  found  deposited.  On  being  ex- 
posed to  view,  the  angel,  of  course,  appeared,  and  there 
was  a  wonderful  display  of  celestial  pyrotechnics,  and 
the  prophet  was  permitted  to  see  that  the  devil,  "  sur- 
rounded by  his  innumerable  train  of  associates,"  was 
also  present.  Strange  to  say,  however,  Joseph  was  not 
yet  permitted  to  have  the  plates,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  22d  of  September,  1827,  and  after  a  great  deal  of 
negotiation  between  him  and  the  angel,  that  they  were 
placed  in  his  possession.  The  following  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  these  important  documents,  by  Orson  Pratt,  one 
of  the  Mormon  champions. 

"  These  records  were  engraved  on  plates  which  had 
the  appearance  of  gold.  Each  plate  was  not  far  from 
seven  by  eight  inches  in  width  and  length,  being  not 
quite  as  thick  as  common  tin.  They  were  filled  on 
both  sides  with  engravings  in  Egyptian  characters,  and 
bound  together  in  a  volume  as  the  leaves  of  a  book,  and 
fastened  at  one  edge  with  three  rings  running  through 
the  whole.  This  volume  was  something  near  six 
inches  in  thickness,  a  part  of  which  was  sealed.  The 
characters  or  letters  upon  the  unsealed  part  were  small 
and  beautifully  engraved.  The  whole  book  exhibited 
many  marks  of  antiquity  in  its  construction,  as  well 
as  much  skill  in  the  art  of  engraving.  With  the  rec- 
ords was  found  i  a  curious  instrument,  called  by  the 
ancients  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  which- 'consisted  of 
two  transparent  stones,  clear  as  crystal, -set  in  the  two 
rims  of  a  bow.  This  was  in  use  in  ancient  times  by 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  59 

persons  called  seers.  It  was  an  instrument,  by  the  use 
of  which  they  received  revelation  of  things  distant,  or 
of  things  past  or  future.'  " 

The  incredulous  reader  will  be  very  apt  to  perceive 
how  completely  the  ideas  in  this  description  are  sug- 
gested by  the  ancient  glyphs  before  alluded  to  ;  he  will 
also  recognize  Joseph's  "  seer  stones"  in  the  "  Urim  and 
Thummim"  here  mentioned.  A  comparison  of  dates, 
too,  will  be  very  natural  in  this  connection.  "  The 
Manuscript  Found"  fell  into  the  hands  of  Rigdon  some- 
where between  1812  and  1816,  in  which  latter  year 
Spaulding  died.  Between  this  and  1827  there  was 
ample  time,  not  only  to  trace  out  and  gain  possession 
of  the  original  manuscript,  but  to  add  the  religious 
matter  found  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which,  with  the 
exception  of  numerous  extracts  from  the  Bible,  is  in 
substance  and  form  entirely  beneath  criticism  as  a  lit- 
erary performance.  Patterson  died  in  1826,  and  the 
new  Bible  could  in  the  following  year  be  drawn  from 
its  hiding-place  without  risk  of  exposure  from  him. 

Smith  boldly  exhibited  not  only  the  external  form  of 
a  golden  Bible,  which,  however,  no  unsanctined  hands 
were  permitted  to  touch,  but  also  a  neatly-polished 
marble  box,  in  a  hole  in  the  ground,  which  was  either 
prepared  by  the  prophet  Moroni  some  fifteen  hundred 
years  ago,  or  by  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  one  or  two 
others,  at  a  more  modern  period.  It  is  a  fact,  that  for 
about  three  years  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  and  a  man 
by  the  name  of  M 'Knight,  .were  almost  continually 
absent  together  from  their  homes,  especially  at  night, 
and  the  neighbors  were  uncharitable  enough  to  charge 
them  with  gambling  and  counterfeiting  during  tfyese 


(30  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMON  S. 

stealthy  interviews,  until  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  dis- 
covered, and  then  these  people  accused  them  of  being 
engaged  in  polishing  and  preparing  the  stone  box,  and 
manufacturing  all  that  was  ever  seen  of  the  golden 
Bible.  According  to  Smith,  however,  he  was,  during 
this  period,  engaged  in  lonely  vigils  and  prayerful  com- 
munion with  heaven,  in  preparation  for  the  holy  office 
to  which  he  was  about  to  be  summoned. 

This  wonderful  discovery  soon  raised  a  popular  com- 
motion— but  let  Orson  Pratt  describe  for  himself: 

"  Soon  the  news  of  his  discoveries  spread  abroad 
throughout  all  those  parts.  False  reports,  misrepre- 
sentations, and  base  slanders,  flew  as  if  upon  the  wings 
of  the  wind  in  every  direction.  The  house  was  fre- 
quently beset  by  mobs  and  evil  designing  persons. 
Several  times  he  was  shot  at  and  very  narrowly  es- 
caped. Every  device  was  used  to  get  the  plates  away 
from  him.  And  being  continually  in  danger  of  his  life 
from  a  gang  of  abandoned  wretches,  he  at  length  con- 
cluded to  leave  the  place  and  go  to  Pennsylvania  ;  and, 
accordingly,  packed  up  his  goods,  putting  the  plates 
into  a  barrel  of  beans,  and  proceeded  upon  his  journey. 
He  had  not  gone  far  before  he  was  overtaken  by  an 
officer  with  a  search-warrant,  who  flattered  himself 
with  the  idea  that  he  should  surely  obtain  the  plates ; 
after  searching  very  diligently,  he  was  sadly  disappoint- 
ed at  not  finding  them.  Mr.  Smith  then  drove  on,  but 
before  he  got  to  his  journey's  end  he  was  again  over- 
taken by  an  officer  on  the  same  business,  and  after 
ransacking  the  wagon  very  carefully,  he  went  his  way 
as  much  chagrined  as  the  first  at  not  being  able  to  dis- 
cover the  object  of  his  research.  Without  any  further 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMON  S.  (3| 

molestation,  he  pursued  his  journey  until  he  came  into 
the  northern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  near  the  Susque- 
hanna  River,  in  which  part  his  father-in-law  resided." 

Sidney  Rigdon,  it  will  also  he  recollected,  resided  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Joseph  being  thus  quietly  housed,  and,  thanks  to  the 
beans,  the  plates  safe  in  his  hands,  he  proceeded  to  the 
work  of  translation ;  but',  being  a  poor  penman,  ho 
soon  provided  himself  with  a  scribe  in  the  person  of 
Oliver  Cowdry,  who  subsequently  became  one  of  the 
witnesses  to  the  verity  of  the  book.  He  stationed  him- 
self behind  a  screen,  with  the  "  Urim  and  Thummim" 
in  his  hat,  and  read  off  sentence  after  sentence,  which 
Cowdry  wrote  down  as  an  amanuensis.  This  process 
occupied  a  number  of  years.  During  the  work  of  trans- 
lation, and  on  the  15th  of  May,  1829,  John  the  Baptist 
appeared  and  laid  hands  on  Smith  and  Cowdry,  ordain- 
ing them  into  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  and  commanded 
them  to  baptize  each  other,  which  they  accordingly  did  ; 
at  the  same  time,  he  informed  them  that  he  was  sent 
by  Peter,  James,  and  John,  who  held  the  keys  of  the 
Melchisedek  priesthood,  which  was  to  be  conferred  in 
due  time ;  Smith  to  be  first,  and  Cowdry  second  elder. 

The  thing  began  now  to  assume  more  form  and 
shape.  The  family  of  the  prophet's  father  were  speed- 
ily converted ;  and,  out  of  this  family  circle,  a  man  of 
some  property,  by  the  name  of  Martin  Harris,  who  had 
been  a  Quaker,  Methodist,  Baptist,  and  finally  Presby- 
terian, was  so  much  captivated  with  the  scheme,  that 
he  advanced  some  money  to  aid  in  the  publication  of 
the  book.  Harris  had  a  strong  desire  to  see  the  won- 
derful plates.  The  prophet,  however,  put  him  off,  on 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


the  ground  that  he  was  not  holy  enough,  but  gave  him 
the  transcript  of  some  of  the  characters  on  a  piece  of 
paper,  which  this  admiring  disciple  submitted  to  the 
inspection  of  Professor  Anthon,  of  New  York.  The 
professor's  letter  to  a  Mr.  Howe,  who  subsequently 
wrote  him  on  the  subject,  contains  so  life-like  a  de- 
scription of  the  modus  operandi  of  the  new  prophet, 
that  it  is  here  given  entire. 

"New  York,  February  17th,  1834. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  letter  of  the  9th,  and 
lose  no  time  in  making  a  reply.  The  whole  story 
about  my  pronouncing  the  Mormon  inscription  to  be 
'  reformed  Egyptian  hieroglyphics'  is  perfectly  false. 
Some  years  ago,  a  plain,  apparently  simple-hearted 
farmer  called  on  me  with  a  note  from  Dr.  Mitchill,  of 
our  city,  now  dead,  requesting  me  to  decipher,  if  pos- 
sible, the  paper  which  the  farmer  would  hand  me. 
Upon  examining  the  paper  in  question,  I  soon  came  to 
.  the  conclusion  that  it  was  all  a  trick — perhaps  a  hoax. 
When  I  asked  the  person  who  brought  it  how  he  ob- 
tained the  writing,  he  gave  me  the  following  account : 
A  l  gold  book,'  consisting  of  a  number  of  plates  fasten- 
ed together  by  wires  of  the  same  material,  had  been 
dug  up  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  along  with  it  an  enormous  pair  of  '  spectacles  !' 
These  spectacles  were  so  large,  that,  if  any  person  at- 
tempted to  look  through  them,  his  two  eyes  would  look 
through  one  glass  only,  the  spectacles  in  question  be- 
ing altogether  too  large  for  the  human  face.  <  Who- 
ever,' he  said,  '  examined  the  plates  through  the  glass- 
es, was  enabled  not  only  to  read  them,  but  fully  to  un- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  53 

derstand  their  meaning.'  All  this  knowledge,  how- 
ever, was  confined  to  a  young  man,  who  had  the  trunk 
containing  the  took  and  spectacles  in  his  sole  posses- 
sion. This  young  man  was  placed  behind  a  curtain, 
in  a  garret  in  a  farm-house,  and  being  thus  concealed 
from  view,  he  put  on  the  spectacles  occasionally,  or, 
rather,  looked  through  one  of  the  glasses,  deciphered 
the  character  in  the  book,  and  having  committed  some 
of  them  to  paper,  handed  copies  from  behind  the  cur- 
tain to  those  who  stood  outside.  Not  a  word  was  said 
about  their  being  deciphered  by  the  '  gift  of  God.'  Ev- 
ery thing  in  this  way  was  effected  by  the  large  pair  of 
spectacles.  The  farmer  added,  that  he  had  been  re- 
quested to  contribute  a  sum  of  money  toward  the  pub- 
lication of  the  '  Golden  Book,'  the  contents  of  which 
would,  as  he  was  told,  produce  an  entire  change  in  the 
world,  and  save  it  from  ruin.  So  urgent  had  been 
these  solicitations,  that  he  intended  selling  his  farm, 
and  giving  the  amount  to  those  who  wished  to  publish 
the  plates.  As  a  last  precautionary  step,  he  had  re- 
solved to  come  to  New  York,  and  obtain  the  opinion 
of  the  learned  about  the  meaning  of  the  paper  which 
he  had  brought  with  him,  and  which  had  been  given 
him  as  part  of  the  contents  of  the  book,  although  no 
translation  had  at  that  time  been  made  by  the  young 
man  with  the  spectacles.  On  hearing  this  odd  story, 
I  changed  my  opinion  about  the  paper,  and  instead  of 
viewing  it  any  longer  as  a  hoax,  I  began  to  regard  it 
as  part  of  a  scheme  to  cheat  the  farmer  of  his  money, 
and  I  communicated  my  suspicions  to  him,  warning 
him  to  beware  of  rogues.  He  requested  an  opinion 
from  me  in  writing,  which,  of  course,  I  declined  to 


64  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

give,  and  he  then  took  his  leave,  taking  his  paper  with 
him. 

"  This  paper  in  question  was,  in  fact,  a  singular 
scroll.  It  consisted  of  all  kinds  of  singular  characters, 
disposed  in  columns,  and  had  evidently  been  prepared 
by  some  person  who  had  before  him  at  the  time  a  book 
containing  various  alphabets,  Greek  and  Hebrew  let- 
ters, crosses,  and  flourishes ;  Roman  letters  inverted, 
or  placed  sideways,  were  arranged  and  placed  in  per- 
pendicular columns;  and  the  whole  ended  in  a  rude 
delineation  of  a  circle,  divided  into  various  compart- 
ments, arched  with  various  strange  marks,  and  evi- 
dently copied  after  the  Mexican  calendar,  given  by 
Humboldt,  but  copied  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  betray 
the  source  whence  it  was  derived.  I  am  thus  partic- 
ular as  to  the  contents  of  the  paper,  inasmuch  as  I 
have  frequently  conversed  with  my  friends  on  the  sub- 
ject since  the  Mormon  excitement  began,  and  well  re- 
member that  the  paper  contained  any  thing  else  but 
'  Egyptian  hieroglyphics.' 

"  Some  time  after,  the  farmer  paid  me  a  second  visit. 
He  brought  with  him  the  '  gold  book'  in  print,  and  of- 
fered it  to  me  for  sale.  I  declined  purchasing.  He 
then  asked  permission  to  leave  the  book  with  me  for  ex- 
amination. I  declined  receiving  it,  although  his  man- 
ner was  strangely  urgent.  I  adverted  once  more  to 
the  roguery  which,  in  my  opinion,  had  been  practiced 
upon  him,  and  asked  him  what  had  become  of  the 
gold  plates.  He  informed  me  that  they  were  in  a 
trunk  with  the  spectacles.  I  advised  him  to  go  to  a 
magistrate,  and  have  the  trunk  examined.  He  said 
6  the  curse  of  God'  would  come  upon  him  if  he  did. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  55 

On  my  pressing  him,  however,  to  go  to  a  magistrate, 
he  told  me  he  would  open  the  trunk  if  I  would  take 
<  the  curse  of  Grod'  upon  myself.  I  replied  I  would  do 
so  with  the  greatest  willingness,  and  would  incur  ev- 
ery risk  of  that  nature,  provided  I  could  only  extricate 
him  from  the  grasp  of  the  rogues.  He  then  left  me. 
I  have  given  you  a  full  statement  of  all  that  I  know 
respecting  the  origin  of  Mormonism,  and  must  beg  you, 
as  a  personal  favor,  to  publish  this  letter  immediately, 
should  you  find  my  name  mentioned  again  by  these 
wretched  fanatics.  Yours  respectfully, 

"  CHARLES  ANTHON." 

Much  of  the  marvel  attached  to  the  idea  that  an 
illiterate  young  man  could  fluently  dictate  in  connect- 
ed series  a  voluminous  work,  is  of  course  removed  when 
we  regard  him  as  reading  from  Spaulding's  manuscript, 
but  to  those  not  in  the  secret  it  was  sufficiently  mirac- 
ulous, and  made  a  deep  impression.  This  seeming 
prodigy  has  been  used  as  one  of  the  strongest  proofs 
of  the  divinity  of  his  mission.  In  the  usual  sense  of 
the  term,  Smith  was  an  uneducated  man.  His  book- 
knowledge  was  very  limited.  He  often  said,  in  sub- 
stance, "  How  could  I,  as  an  illiterate  impostor,  hope 
to  impose  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury ?"  and  all  persons  of  learning  and  refinement, 
who  live  in  an  upper  world  of  their  own,  and  in  igno- 
rance of  the  under-currents  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition coursing  beneath  them,  wrere  astonished  at  the 
prodigy.  But  in  this  he  exhibited  his  almost  intuitive 
knowledge  of  the  weak  traits  of  humanity,  in  which, 
in  fact,  he  had  more  available  learning  than  all  the 


56  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

closet  men  put  together.  His  own  autobiography 
shows  him  well  studied  at  an  early  period  in  the  nice 
shades  and  differences  of  modern  sectarian  creeds,  and 
subsequent  developments  proved  him  well  read  in  the 
history  of  Mohammed  and  other  religious  impostors. 
He  would  undoubtedly  have  excelled  in  such  other 
pursuits  as  were  suited  to  his  disposition  and  tastes. 
As  a  gambler,  he  would  have  exhibited  unrivaled 
dexterity ;  as  a  trader,  he  would  have  been  a  skillful 
sharper ;  as  a  military  man,  a  master  of  strategy ;  as 
a  politician,  an  adroit  whipper-in  ;  and  as  a  policeman 
(without  a  single  lesson  *  from  "  Old  Hays"},  a  first- 
rate  iiabber  of  thieves  and  discoverer  of  stolen  goods. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY  CONTINUED. 

Coincidence  between  Book  of  Mormon  and  "  Manuscript  Found." — 
Witnesses,  their  Character. — Church  organized  at  Fayette,  N.  Y. — 
Removal  to  Kirtland,  Ohio. — Zion  located  at  Independence,  Mo. — 
Lands  purchased  in  Jackson  County,  Mo. — Discords  among  the 
Saints. — Quorum  of  Three. — Troubles  with  the  Gentiles. — Mor- 
mons expelled  from  Jackson  County. 

IN  1830,  the  Book  of  Mormon  made  its  appearance. 
The  following  is  a  brief  description  of  it  by  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  one  of  the  Mormon  apostles : 

"  The  Book  of  Mormon  contains  the  history  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  America,  who  were  a  branch  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  of  whom  the 
Indians  are  still  a  remnant ;  but  the  principal  nation 
of  them  having  fallen  in  battle  in  the  fourth  or  fifth 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMON  S.  57 

century,  one  of  their  prophets,  whose  name  was  Mor- 
mon, saw  fit  to  make  an  abridgment  of  their  history, 
their  prophecies,  and  their  doctrines,  which  he  engraved 
on  plates,  and  afterward  being  slain,  the  records  fell 
into  the  hands  of  his  son  Moroni,  who,  being  hunted  by 
his  enemies,  was  directed  to  deposit  the  records  safely 
in  the  earth,  with  a  promise  from  God  that  it  should 
be  preserved,  and  should  be  brought  to  light  in  the  lat- 
ter days  by  means  of  a  Gentile  nation  who  should  pos- 
sess the  land.  The  deposit  was  made  about  the  year 
420,  on  a  hill  then  called  Cumora,  now  in  Ontario 
county,  where  it  was  preserved  in  safety  until  it  was 
brought  to  light  by  no  less  than  the  ministry  of  angels, 
and  translated  by  inspiration ;  and  the  Great  Jeho- 
vah bore  record  of  the  same  to  chosen  witnesses,  who 
declare  it  to  the  world" 

The  occurrence  of  the  same  leading  events  and 
names  in  the  "  Manuscript  Found"  and  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  which  fact  is  proved  by  a  perfect  cloud  of 
witnesses  living  in  and  about  New  Salem,  Ohio,  estab- 
lishes to  the  satisfaction  of  the  anti-Mormon  the  iden- 
tity of  the  two  works  beyond  all  possible  question, 
whatever  of  confusion  or  contradiction  there  may  be  in 
regard  to  the  ultimate  destination  of  Spaulding's  book. 
In  the  death  of  the  principal  personages,  it  is  easy  to 
conftlse  dates  and  circumstances ;  but  such  a  series  of 
coincidences  could  not  by  possibility  have  happened 
by  chance,  and  seems  to  demonstrate  either  that  Spaul- 
ding  took  a  peep  into  the  stone  box  at  Cumora,  or  that 
Joseph  got  possession  of  his  manuscript. 

The  prophet  was  a  bold  innovator.  In  defiance  of 
the  maxim  that  truth  is  open  and  aboveboard,  and 


U  T  A  II   A  N  D   T  II  E    M  O  R  M  O  N  S. 


that  roguery  requires  mystery  and  concealment,  he 
strenuously  guarded  the  sacred  plates  from  the  gaze 
of  profane  curiosity.  It  was  accordingly  revealed  to 
him  that  they  were  not  to  be  exhibited  to  any,  except 
the  witnesses  chosen  by  the  Lord  for  that  purpose  ;  and 
it  seems  that  after  the  translation  and  witnessing,  the 
angel  who  had  negotiated  the  whole  business  on  the 
part  of  the  supernal  powers  took  them  in  charge.  In 
the  first  place,  three  witnesses  were  obtained  —  Oliver 
Cowdry,  David  Whitmer,  and  Martin  Harris,  who  cer- 
tify to  having  seen  the  plates,  and  to  their  having  been 
"  translated  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God"  —  and  they 
declare,  "  with  words  of  soberness,  that  an  angel  of  God 
came  down  from  heaven,  and  brought  and  laid  before 
our  eyes,  that  we  beheld  and  saw  the  plates,  and  the 
engraving  thereon." 

Afterward  eight  more  witnesses  were  procured,  who 
signed  a  short  certificate  in  terms  much  more  general 
than  the  first  —  John  Whitmer,  Christian  Whitmer,  Ja- 
cob Whitmer,  Peter  Whitmer,  Jr.,  Hiram  Page,  Joseph 
Smith,  Scnr.,  Hyrum  Smith,  and  Samuel  H.  Smith. 
Who  were  these  witnesses  upon  whose  testimony  de- 
pends the  authenticity  of  a  new  Bible,  and  the  verity 
of  a  new  religious  dispensation  ?  Three  of  them  are 
the  father  and  two  brothers  of  the  prophet,  and  five  are 
made  up  of  a  family  of  Whitmers  ;  and  Hiram  Page 
was  a  brother-in-law  of  the  Whitmers.  If  we  are  to 
credit  the  affidavits  made  by  sundry  of  the  neighbors, 
their  characters  are  all  very  much  below  par,  accord- 
ing to  the  Gentile  standard.  But  it  will  perhaps  be 
more  satisfactory  to  adduce  Mormon  testimony  on  the 
subject. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  59 

Harris,  who,  it  will  be  recollected,  exhibited  a  speci- 
men of  the  mysterious  characters  to  Professor  Anthon, 
subsequently  lost  the  bulk  of  his  property  in  the  Mor- 
mon adventure,  and  fell  into  utter  disgrace  with  the 
prophet  himself,  who  spoke  of  him  in  the  following  dis- 
paraging terms  in  the  "Elder's  Journal:"  "  There  are 
negroes  who  wear  white  skins  as  well  as  black  ones. 
Grrames  Parrish  and  others,  ivho  acted  as  lackeys,  such 
as  Martin  Harris ,  &c.,  but  they  are  so  far  beneath 
contempt  that  a  notice  of  them  would  be  too  great  a 
sacrifice  for  a  gentleman  to  make" 

From  a  statement  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  while  the  Saints 
were  at  Independence  in  1838,  it  appears  that  Oliver 
Cowdry  and  David  Whitmer  were  connected  with  a 
gang  of  "  counterfeiters,  thieves,  liars,  and  blacklegs 
of  the  deepest  dye,  to  deceive,  cheat,  and  defraud  the 
Saints"  But  this  is  not  all ;  Hyrum  Smith,  in  1839, 
wrote  an  account  of  his  sufferings  while  in  confine- 
ment in  Missouri,  in  which  he  speaks  in  the  following 
terms  of  Oliver  Cowdry :  "  Those  with  whom  I  had 
been  acquainted  from  my  youth,  and  who  had  ever 
pretended  the  greatest  friendship  toward  me,  came  to 
my  house  while  I  was  in  prison,  and  ransacked  and 
carried  off  many  of  my  valuables  :  this  they  did  under 
the  cloak  of  friendship.  Among  those  who  treated  me 
thus,  I  can  not  help  making  mention  of  Lyman  Cow- 
dry,  who,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  Oliver  Cow- 
dry,  took  from  me  a  great  many  things ;  and,  to  cap 
the  climax  of  his  iniquity,  compelled  my  aged  father, 
by  threatening  to  bring  a  mob  upon  him,  to  deed  over 
to  him,  or  to  his  brother  Oliver,  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land,  to  pay  a  note  which  I  had 


70  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

given  to  Oliver  for  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars." 
This  note  he  pronounced  a  forgery.  Oliver  Cowdry 
was  afterward  arraigned  before  the  Church,  and  found 
guilty  of  sundry  charges,  among  which  were, 

2d.  "  For  seeking  to  destroy  the  character  of  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  by  falsely  insinuating  that  he  was  guilty 
of  adultery,"  &c. 

8th.  "  For  disgracing  the  Church  by  being  connect- 
ed in  the  bogus  business,  as  common  report  says." 

Oliver  and  Martin  were  expelled  or  seceded,  but 
afterward  received  again  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church, 
possessing  too  many  of  the  qualifications  of  good  mem- 
bership to  be  long  absent  from  the  Latter-day  sanctu- 
ary. The  true  believers  greatly  wondered  that  the 
Mormon  divinity  should  have  made  such  a  mistake  in 
the  character  of  his  chosen  witnesses,  but  were  suffi- 
ciently reassured  when  instructed  that  it  was  a  trial 
of  their  faith. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1830,  the  prophet  organized  his 
Church  at  Fayette,  in  the  county  of  Ontario,  consist- 
ing of  thirty  members.  But  this  was  found  to  be  an 
unfavorable  locality  :  these  embryo  saints  were  held  in 
light  repute  in  that  region ;  and,  in  the  course  of  the 
same  year,  Joseph  removed  to,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Kirtland,  Ohio ;  not  exactly  as  the  future 
capital  of  his  new  religious  empire,  but  as  one  of  the 
stakes  of  Zion  yet  to  be  located.  Here  the  furnace  of 
this  new  fanaticism  got  into  full  and  powerful  blast. 
Superadded  to  the  power  of  translating  the  Book  of 
Mormon  in  particular,  and  all  mysterious  hieroglyph- 
ics in  general,  through  a  mammoth  pair  of  spectacles, 
Joseph  received  the  gift  of  prophecy  and  revelation : 


UTAH  AND    THE    MORMONS. 


he  became  not  only  the  translator  of  these  ancient  rec- 
ords, but  the  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  of  the  cur- 
rent era.  These  extraordinary  gifts  he  exercised  with- 
out stint  or  measure.  The  fount  of  revelation  poured 
forth  through  this  chosen  aqueduct  a  seemingly  un- 
ceasing and  never-ending  flood  :  the  shrines  of  ancient 
heathendom  were  altogether  cast  into  the  shade  by 
this  modern  oracle,  which  obediently  responded  at  all 
times  and  on  all  occasions,  to  meet  the  exigencies  and 
gratify  the  desires  of  Joseph  and  his  coadjutors.  All 
the  movements  of  the  Church  and  its  members,  wheth- 
er of  a  secular  or  religious  character,  were  regulat- 
ed by  these  celestial  responses.  Any  one  curious  in 
the  lights,  shadows,  branchings,  and  ramifications  of 
pseudo-religious  commotions,  can  be  gratified  by  read- 
ing the  book  of  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants"  where 
the  most  important  of  these  Sibylline  leaves  are  col- 
lated for  the  edification  and  guidance  of  the  Latter- 
day  Saints.  Missionaries  were  sent  forth  by  revela- 
tion, and  entered  upon  their  work  with  zeal,  perform- 
ing miracles,  speaking  with  unknown  tongues,  healing 
the  sick,  &c.  The  thing  was  new,  mysterious,  and 
marvelous  ;  its  pretensions  were  great  ;  its  advocates 
bold  and  plausible  ;  where  there  was  so  much  smoke, 
it  was  readily  believed  there  must  be  some  fire  ;  the 
last  days  were  believed  to  be  at  hand,  and  multitudes 
rushed  into  the  new  Zion. 

Such  an  aggregation  of  combustible  materials  pro- 
duced a  corresponding  conflagration,  and  all  accounts 
agree  that  the  wildest  vagaries  of  modern  revivalism 
were  manifested  to  such  a  degree,  that  Joseph  was 
compelled  to  attach  a  safety-valve  to  the  boiler,  lest 


72  UTAHAND    THE    MORMONS. 

the  concern  should  explode.  He  moderated  the  zeal 
of  the  over-zealous,  rebuked  the  too  lofty  pretensions  of 
some  who  were  disposed  to  "  see  visions  and  dream 
dreams"  on  their  own  hook,  and  established  the  very 
important  principle  that  he  alone  was  the  only  reliable 
medium  of  revelation.  Like  a  prudent  general,  too, 
he  made  seasonable  provision  for  his  own  safety.  As 
early  as  July,  1830,  a  revelation  on  this  point  ran  in 
the  following  strain : 

"  Magnify  thine  office ;  and  after  thou  hast  sowed 
thy  fields  and  secured  them,  go  speedily  unto  the 
Church  which  is  in  Colesville,  Fayetteville,  and  Man- 
chester, and  they  shall  support  thee" 

In  February,  1831,  the  oracle  was  still  more  ex- 
plicit :  "  And  again,  it  is  meet  that  my  servant  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  should  have  a  house  built,  in  which  to  live 
and  translate."  "  If  ye  desire  the  mysteries  of  my 
kingdom,  provide  for  him  food  and  raiment,  and 
whatsoever  thing  he  needeth" 

Kirtland  was  never  intended  to  be  the  metropolis  of 
Mormonism ;  it  was  selected  as  a  temporary  abiding- 
place,  to  make  money  in  reference  to  a  removal  further 
west.  Oliver  Cowdry  was  sent  forward  as  a  mission- 
ary to  the  Lamanites,  and  to  explore  a  place  for  the 
future  Zion.  On  his  return,  he  gave  so  flattering  an 
account  of  the  western  borders  of  Missouri,  that  Joseph 
resolved  to  go  himself.  Accordingly,  he  and  Sidney 
Eigdon,  in  obedience  to  a  revelation  (June,  1831),  re- 
paired to  Jackson  county,  Missouri,  and  fixed  on  the 
spot  where  Independence  now  stands  as  the  site  of  the 
great  Mormon  temple,  and  the  gathering-place  of  the 
Latter-day  Saints. 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 


73 


SMITH    PREACHING    IN    THE    WILDERNESS.  ^ 

Every  thing  appeared  so  sunny  in  this  delightful  re- 
gion, on  the  borders  of  civilized  and  savage  life,  where 
the  Lamanites  and  the  Gentiles  could  be  within  con- 
venient range  of  the  Mormon  batteries,  that  Joseph 
was  tempted  to  obtain  a  revelation,  in  which  matters 
were  more  clearly  defined  than  is  usual  in  prophetic 
annunciations.  The  following  is  the  heavenly  response 
on  this  occasion  (July,  1831) : 

D 


74  U  T  A  H   A  N  D   T  H  K    M  O  R  M  O  N  S. 

"  Hearken,  0  ye  elders  of  my  Church,  saith  the 
Lord  your  Grod,  who  have  assembled  yourselves  to- 
gether, according  to  my  commandments,  in  this  land 
which  is  the  land  of  Missouri,  which  is  the  land  which 
I  have  appointed  and  consecrated  for  the  gathering  of 
the  Saints.  Wherefore  this  is  the  land  of  promise,  and 
the  place  for  the  city  of  Zion.  Behold,  the  place  which 
is  now  called  Independence  is  the  centre  place,  and  the 
spot  for  the  Temple  is  lying  westward,  upon  a  lot  which 
is  not  far  from  the  Court-house :  wherefore  it  is  wis- 
dom that  the  land  should  be  purchased  by  the  Saints ; 
and  also  my  tract  lying  westward,  even  unto  the  line 
running  between  Jew  and  Gentile ;  and  also  my  tract 
bordering  by  the  prairies,  inasmuch  as  my  disciples  are 
enabled  to  buy  lands.  Behold,  this  is  wisdom,  that 
they  may  obtain  it  for  an  everlasting  inheritance." 

By  the  Jew  is  here  understood  the  Lamanite  or  In- 
dian. The  site  of  Zion  having  been  thus  duly  fixed, 
the  enginery  of  revelation  was  also  put  in  motion  to 
raise  the  means.  -  From  a  number  we  select  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  He  that  sendeth  up  treasures  unto  the  land  of  Zion 
shall  receive  an  inheritance  in  this  world,  and  his 
works  shall  follow  him  ;  and  also  reward  in  the  world 
to  come."  "  Let  all  the  moneys  that  can  be  spared,  it 
mattereth  not  whether  it  be  little  or  much,  be  sent  up 
unto  the  land  of  Zion,  unto  them  whom  I  have  appoint- 
ed to  receive."  (August,  1831.) 

The  following  looks  very  much  like  "  letter  s-of- 
marque"  against  the  Gentiles : 

"  Behold,  it  is  said  in  my  laws,  or  forbidden,  to  get 
in  debt  to  thine  enemies ;  but  behold,  it  is  not  said  at 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  75 

any  time  that  the  Lord  should  not  take,  when  he 
please,  and  pay  as  seemeth  to  him  good ;  wherefore, 
as  ye  are  agents,  and  are  on  the  Lord's  errand  ;  and 
whatever  ye  do  according  to  the  will  of  the  Lord  is 
the  Lord's  business,  and  he  has  sent  you  to  provide 
for  his  Saints  in  these  last  days,  that  they  may  ob- 
tain an  inheritance  in  the  land  of  Zion" 

There  is  no  disputing  a  logical  sequence  upon  the 
premises  here  assumed.  If  the  Saints  were  really  upon 
the  Lord's  business,  and  that  business  really  required 
a  foray  upon  the  flocks  and  herds  of  the  Gentiles,  it 
would  seem  to  be  a  fair  conclusion  that  the  Lord 
should  settle  the  bills  when  he  pleased. 

In  obedience  to  these  celestial  mandates,  the  means 
were  obtained,  and  a  large  tract  of  land  purchased  in 
Jackson  county,  Missouri.  Arrangements  were  speed- 
ily made  for  the  establishment  of  a  store,  a  printing- 
press,  and  the  usual  mechanical  operations  necessary 
for  the  convenience  of  a  town.  William  "W.  Phelps,  a 
broken-down  political  hack  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  paper.  The  Saints  flock- 
ed in,  and  a  town  sprang  up  as  by  magic.  Joseph  re- 
turned to  Kirtland,  where  he  proposed  to  remain  five 
years,  to  make  money  for  ulterior  purposes. 

During  this  period  of  separation  the  elements  of  dis- 
cord began  to  appear.  Rigdon  was  a  discontented  spir- 
it. He  knew  that  he  had  furnished  an  equal  share  of 
the  capital  in  starting  the  adventure,  and  became  ex- 
ceedingly restive  in  being  compelled,  by  the  superior 
tactics  of  his  co-partner,  to  occupy  a  subordinate  posi- 
tion. Phelps,  too,  was  an  uneasy  genius,  and,  like  the 
frog  in  the  fable,  was  determined  to  swell  himself  into 


76  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

importance.  He  had  a  ready  skill  in  the  dialect  of 
lampoons  and  half-way  libels  common  to  a  class  of  ed- 
itors at  that  period  ;  knew  something  of  the  weak 
points  of  human  nature,  and  could  tease  it  as  effectu- 
ally as  the  horse  is  tormented  by  a  hungry  swarm  of 
flies.  These  and  other  kindred  spirits  began  to  ques- 
tion the  legitimacy  of  the  powers  assumed  by  the 
prophet  over  the  Church,  and  accused  him,  "  in  rather 
an  indirect  way,  of  seeking  after  monarchical  power 
and  authority."  They  began  in  whispers  and  covert 
insinuations,  but  finally  broke  out  into  open  accusa- 
tions, and  boldly  opened  a  correspondence  with  him  on 
the  subject.  The  prophet  could  not  have  been  more 
annoyed  had  a  chestnut  burr  been  securely  fastened  to 
a  sensitive  part  of  his  body.  He  would  willingly  have 
put  down  this  rebellion  by  hurling  the  thunderbolts  of 
revelation  at  the  heads  of  the  audacious  traitors ;  but 
he  was  absent. from  the  seat  of  discontent,  and  did  not 
know  how  extensive  or  deeply  rooted  it  might  be.  His 
position  was  exceedingly  embarrassing,  and  he  mani- 
fested a  curious  mixture  of  grief  and  indignation.  In 
answer  to  one  of  Phelps's  letters,  he  writes  (January 
llth,  1833),  "  Our  hearts  are  greatly  grieved  at  the 
spirit  which  is  breathed  both  in  your  letter  and  that  of 
Brother  G*5*****^ — the  very  spirit  which  is  wasting 
Zion  like  a  pestilence ;  and  if  it  is  not  detected  and 
driven  from  you,  it  will  ripen  Zion  for  the  threatened 
judgments  of  God."  "  Let  me  say  to  you,  seek  to  pu- 
rify yourselves,  and  also  all  the  inhabitants  of  Zion, 
lest  the  Lord's  anger  be  kindled  to  fierceness." 

In  addition  to  these  threats  of  divine  vengeance,  he 
caused  a  conference  of  high-priests  to  be  held,  and  a 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  77 

general  epistle  to  be  written,  rebuking  the  rebellious 
spirit  of  the  Mormon  camp.  In  this  epistle,  signed  by 
Orson  Hyde  and  Hyrum  Smith,  "  Brother  Phelps'  let- 
ter" is  spoken  of  as  betraying  "  a  lightness  of  spirit 
that  ill  becomes  a  man  placed  in  the  important  and  re- 
sponsible station  that  he  is  placed  in."  He  is  signifi- 
cantly reminded,  "  If  you  have  fat  beef  and  potatoes, 
eat  them  in  singleness  of  heart,  and  not  boast  your- 
selves in  these  things;"  and  the  malcontents  are  warn- 
ed that  "  Brother  Joseph  will  not  settle  in  Zion  until 
she  repent  and  purify  herself,  and  abide  by  the  new 
covenant,  and  remember  the  commandments  that  have 
been  given  her,  to  do  them  as  well  as  to  say  them." 
The  prophet,  however,  soon  found  that  the  rebellion 
was  too  serious  to  be  put  down  by  these  "  paper  pellets 
of  the  brain,"  and  he  was  eventually  compelled,  in  com- 
promise of  the  difficulty,  to  associate  two  others  with 
him  in  the  presidency  of  the  Church.  The  oracle  in 
this  emergency  runs  in  this  wise  :  "  And  again,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  thy  brethren,  Sidney  Rigdon  and  Fred- 
erick G-.  Williams,  their  sins  are  forgiven  them  also, 
and  they  are  accounted  as  equal  with  thee  in  holding 
the  keys  of  this  last  kingdom"  (March,  1833).  Here 
we  have  the  quorum  of  three,  which  has  now  become 
the  most  important  department  in  the  government  of 
the  Church. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Saints  went  on  gathering  at 
Independence  until  they  numbered  about  twelve  hund- 
red. "  The  Evening  and  Morning  Star,"  under  the 
management  of  Phelps,  was  established  in  1832,  and 
opened  its  batteries  upon  the  Gentile  world.  Every 
thing  seemed  to  go  on  swimmingly.  The  Saints,  en- 


78  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

couraged  by  increasing  numbers  and  the  indications 
of  prosperity,  became  arrogant  and  overbearing,  and 
talked  of  ultimately  possessing  the  whole  land.  They 
soon,  too,  acquired  a  doubtful  reputation  for  licentious- 
ness, stealing,  and  fraudulent  practices  under  various 
forms.  To  cap  the  climax,  the  "  Star"  published  some 
incendiary  articles  in  regard  to  the  colored  population, 
which  aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  slaveholders  for  the 
safety  of  the  peculiar  institution.  The  people  became 
uncontrollably  excited,  and  held  a  meeting  at  Inde- 
pendence, July  20,  1833,  in  which  they  resolved  on  the 
expulsion  of  the  Mormons.  They  required  that  the 
office  of  the  Star  should  be  closed,  and  that  the  Saints 
should  pledge  themselves  to  remove ;  in  which  case 
they  were  to  be  "  allowed  to  remain  a  reasonable  time, 
to  sell  their  property  and  close  their  business  without 
any  material  sacrifice."  The  Saints  wished  for  time 
to  consult  with  their  brethren  in  Ohio,  but  this  being 
regarded  by  the  angry  multitude  as  an  evasion,  they 
again  assembled,  after  a  few  hours'  delay,  leveled  the 
printing-office  to  the  ground,  and  tarred  and  feathered 
two  of  the  principal  Saints. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  three  days  after,  the  mob  again 
assembled,  Avell  armed,  and  the  Mormons,  becoming 
alarmed  for  their  safety,  agreed  to  remove  from  the 
county  in  a  reasonable  time.  An  agreement  to  this 
effect  was  drawn  up  and  signed,  by  which  one  half 
were  to  remove  by  the  first  of  January,  and  the  rest  by 
the  first  of  April  following,  in  consideration  of  which 
the  people  agreed  that  no  further  violence  should  be 
offered.  Had  these  terms  been  complied  with,  prob- 
ably no  further  violence  would  have  occurred  in  Jack- 


UTAH  AND  THE  MORMONS. 


79 


SMITH  TARRED  AND  FEATHERED. 


son  county.  The  prophet  was  at  this  time  at  Kirtland, 
and  to  him  some  of  the  brethren  resorted  in  this  emer- 
gency, and  under  his  direction  made  an  appeal  to  Gov- 
ernor Dunklin.  The  Governor,  in  answer,  admitted 
that  they  had  been  illegally  treated,  and  advised  them 
to  appeal  to  the  courts  for  redress.  In  consequence  of 
this,  they  commenced  a  number  of  suits  against  sun- 
dry of  the  mob,  and  resolved  to  remain.  Of  course, 
this  led  to  further  violence,  and  finally  to  something 
like  a  regular  skirmish,  in  which  two  of  the  Missouri- 
ans  were  killed.  Blood  being  fairly  spilled,  there  seem- 


80  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

ed  every  prospect  of  a  civil  war,  when  the  main  body 
of  the  Mormons,  hastily  and  in  much  confusion,  aban- 
doned their  homes,  and  fled  into  Clay  county,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Missouri.  This  took  place  in  Novem- 
ber, 1833 :  women  and  children  were  exposed  to  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  there  was  much  suf- 
fering and  some  loss  of  property.  They  were,  however, 
received  with  great  kindness  by  the  people  of  Clay 
county,  and  the  prophet  managed  to  take  off  the  rough 
edge  of  these  reverses  by  a  revelation  that  they  were 
in  consequence  of  the  "  contentions,  and  envyings,  and 
strifes,  and  lustful  and  covetous  desires"  among  the 
Saints,  whereby  they  had  "  polluted  their  inheritances ;" 
and  they  are  comforted  with  the  assurance  that  "  Zion 
shall  not  be  moved  out  of  her  place,  notwithstanding 
her  children  are  scattered ;  they  that  remain  and  are 
pure  in  heart  shall  return  and  come  to  their  inherit- 
ances, they  and  their  children,  with  songs  of  everlast- 
ing joy,  to  build  up  the  waste  places  of  Zion.  And, 
behold,  there  is  none  other  place  appointed  than  that 
which  I  have  appointed  for  the  work  of  the  gathering 
of  my  Saints,  until  the  day  cometh  when  there  is  found 
no  more  room  for  them,  and  then  I  have  other  places 
which  I  will  appoint  unto  them ;  and  they  shall  be 
called  stakes  for  the  curtains,  or  the  strength  of  Zion" 
(August,  1833).  He  also  reveals  to  them  that  they 
were  to  appeal  to  the  judiciary,  and,  if  that  was  in  vain, 
then  to  the  Governor,  and,  if  that  was  unsuccessful, 
then  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  if  the 
appeal  was  still  unheeded,  "then  the  Lord  God  him- 
self would  arise,  and  come  forth  out  of  his  hiding- 
place,  and  in  his  fury  vex  the  nation !" 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  gl 

These  appeals  were  all  subsequently  made  without 
success ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  prediction,  the  Lord 
does  not  seem  to  come  forth  from  his  "  hiding-place  ;" 
and,  although  Missouri  was  to  be  overflowing  with 
Saints  before  the  "  stakes  for  the  curtains"  were  ap- 
pointed, yet  they  have  been  compelled  to  appoint  these 
"  stakes"  without  returning  to  Independence  at  all. 
The  truth  is,  these  revelations  in  regard  to  the  seat  of 
Zion  were  a  little  too  definite.  The  prophet,  in  due 
time,  discovered  that  he  led  the  Mormon  deity  into  a 
mistake,  and  did  all  he  could  to  explain  the  failure. 
It  was  difficult,  however,  in  the  face  of  such  predic- 
tions, to  change  the  venue,  and  the  notion  is  therefore 
still  prevalent  among  a  portion  of  the  Saints  that  they 
are  to  return  in  triumph  to  Missouri  and  drive  out  the 
G-entiles. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Mormons  quit  Clay  and  remove  into  Caldwell  County. — Joseph's  Jour- 
neys into  Missouri. — Sets  up  a  Bank  at  Kirtland. — Leaves  Kirtland 
in  the  Night. — Troubles  in  Missouri.—"  Danites." — Joseph  arrested, 
and  Mormons  agree  to  leave  the  State. — Murder  at  Hawn's  Mill. — 
Mormons  remove  to  Illinois. — Evidence  on  the  Trial  of  Joseph. — 
His  Imprisonment  and  Escape. 

THE  Mormons  went  into  Clay  county  as  a  tempo- 
rary refuge  from  the  popular  storm  then  raging  against 
them,  and  until  they  could  return  to  Zion  or  obtain 
some  other  abiding-place.  Under  the  encouraging  pre- 
dictions of  the  prophet,  they  confidently  expected  soon 
D2 


82  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

to  be  restored  in  triumph  to  their  chosen  metropolis. 
But  delays  ensued.  The  people  of  Jackson  county, 
determined  to  be  forever  rid  of  the  nuisance  which  they 
had  thus  summarily  abated,  pertinaciously  refused  all 
terms  of  accommodation  based  upon  the  idea  that  the 
Saints  were  to  return  among  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  persecution  seems  to  have  given 
them  exactly  the  kind  of  aid  needed  for  a  rapid  accu- 
mulation of  numbers.  New  converts  flocked  in,  and 
spread  from  Clay  into  Caldwell  and  Davies  counties, 
and  this  portion  of  Missouri  bid  fair  to  become  com- 
pletely Mormonized.  The  people  of  Clay  county  be- 
came seriously  alarmed.  They  found  in  their  midst 
an  ignorant,  clannish  population,  combined  together 
by  religious  fanaticism,  arrogant  and  overbearing  in 
their  pretensions,  and  completely  under  the  control  of  a 
single  will.  Their  numbers  were  rapidly  increasing ; 
they  were  purchasing  lands ;  and  there  was  every  ap- 
pearance that  they  intended  to  remain.  They  were 
non-slaveholders,  and  excited  the  fears  of  the  people  in 
regard  to  their  slaves ;  they  proclaimed  that  the  In- 
dians were  a  remnant  of  the  Israelites,  and  were  mak- 
ing strenuous  efforts  to  convert  them  to  the  new  faith ; 
and  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  became,  in  popu- 
lar imagination,  fearful  additions  to  the  destructive  ele- 
ments which  seemed  to  be  combining  for  evil  in  their 
midst.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held  at  Liberty 
on  the  29th  of  June,  1836,  in  which  these  matters  were 
taken  into  consideration.  The  Mormons  were  remind- 
ed of  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  re- 
ceived, and  requested  to  leave,  time  being  given  them 
to  harvest  their  crops  and  dispose  of  their  property. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  Q3 

Fortunately  for  all  concerned,  the  Saints  admitted  the 
conditions  under  which  they  were  received  by  the  cit- 
izens, and  agreed  to  leave  on  the  terms  proposed,  de- 
nying strenuously  that  they  had  ever  tampered  with 
the  slaves,  or  had  any  idea  of  exciting  an  Indian  war. 

The  Mormons,  being  thus  compelled  to  leave  Clay 
county,  settled  principally  in  Caldwell  county,  found- 
ing the  city  of  Far  West,  and  other  smaller  places. 
The  popular  storm,  however,  which  had  never  fully 
abated,  gathered  new  strength,  and  ultimately  drove 
them  from  the  state. 

The  prophet,  who  had  kept  himself  out  of  the  way 
of  danger  during  the  warfare  in  Jackson  county,  and 
had  made  a  missionary  excursion  into  Canada,  seeking 
for  new  converts,  projected  a  journey  into  Missouri 
soon  after  the  Saints  had  got  safely  settled  in  Clay 
county.  Many  had  grown  weak  in  the  faith,  and  be- 
come discouraged  by  reason  of  the  troubles  at  Inde- 
pendence. This  journey  was  therefore  intended  to 
build  up  the  breaches  in  the  walls  of  Zion  by  a  fresh 
display  of  revelations,  and  other  signs  and  wonders. 
He  journeyed  partly  in  disguise,  to  avoid  the  anticipat- 
ed hostility  of  the  wicked  Gentiles,  and  was  attended 
by  a  body-guard  of  about  one  hundred  young  men,  se- 
cretly armed.  This  was  in  May,  1834.  After  passing 
the  Illinois  River,  they  came  to  some  of  those  mounds 
so  common  in  the  Western  States.  One  of  these  was 
opened,  and  the  bones  of  a  dead  Indian  exposed  to 
view,  with  an  arrow  between  his  ribs.  Joseph  was  in- 
stantly favored  with  a  vision,  and  declared  the  remains 
to  be  the  skeleton  of  one  of  the  ancient  Lamanites  by 
the  name  of  Zelph,  who  had  been  killed  in  a  battle 


§4  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


DISCOVERY   OF    THE    LAMAiNlTE    SKELETON. 

with  the  Nephites.  The  journey  occupied  some  time. 
On  reaching  the  first  settlement  of  the  brethren,  they 
were  joined  by  Brother  Hyrurn  Smith,  with  about  one 
hundred  armed  men ;  and  with  this  re-enforcement  he 
visited  the  Saints,  gave  forth  some  consoling  and  reas- 
suring revelations,  worked  some  miracles,  and,  after  re- 
ducing things  to  proper  order,  returned  to  Kirtland  in 
July. 

The  principal  object  of  the  prophet's  residence  at 
Kirtland,  as  avowed  by  himself,  was  to  make  money, 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  §5 

for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  which  he  set  up  a  bank, 
in  connection  with  a  mill  and  store ;  and  in  this  way 
he  carried  on  business  operations  for  a  few  years.  But 
financial  and  commercial  enterprises  were  altogether 
beyond  his  depth ;  his  forte  lay  in  another  direction ; 
the  universal  panacea  of  revelation  could  not  ward  off 
the  blow ;  the  celestial  councils  got  into  a  decided  fog ; 
to  make  a  long  story  short,  the  whole  concern  exploded 
in  1837.  He  had  great  difficulty  in  preventing  the 
whole  Mormon  scheme  from  exploding  with  the  bank. 
The  sufferers  grumbled.  One  Elder  Boynton  contu- 
maciously complained  that  "  he  understood  the  bank 
was  instituted  by  the  will  of  God,  and  he  had  been 
told  that  it  should  never  fail,  let  men  do  what  they 
would."  But  Joseph  adroitly  threw  the  blame  on  the 
managers,  claiming  that  a  blessing  had  been  promised 
only  on  the  condition  of  its  being  conducted  on  proper 
principles.  The  following,  from  his  autobiography, 
shows  the  straits  to  which  he  was  reduced  at  this  crit- 
ical period : 

"  At  this  time  the  spirit  of  speculation  in  lands,  and 
property  of  all  kinds,  which  was  so  prevalent  through- 
out the  whole  nation,  was  taking  deep  root  in  the 
Church ;  as  the  fruits  of  this  spirit,  evil  surmisings, 
fault-finding,  disunion,  dissension,  and  apostacy  follow- 
ed in  quick  succession,  and  it  seemed  as  though  all  the 
powers  of  earth  and  hell  were  combining  their  influ- 
ence in  an  especial  manner  to  overthrow  the  Church 
at  once,  and  make  a  final  end.  Other  banking  insti- 
tutions refused  the  '  Kirtland  Safety  Society's'  notes. 
The  enemy  abroad  and  apostates  in  our  midst  united 
in  their  schemes ;  flour  and  provisions  were  turned  to- 


85  U  T  A  II   A  N  D    T  II  E    M  O  R  M  O  N  S. 

ward  other  markets  ;  and  many  became  disaffected  to- 
ward me,  as  though  I  were  the  sole  cause  of  those 
very  evils  I  was  most  strenuously  striving  against,  and 
which  were  actually  brought  upon  us  by  the  brethren 
not  giving  heed  to  my  counsel. 

"  No  quorum  in  the  Church  was  entirely  exempt  from 
the  influence  of  those  false  spirits  who  were  striving 
against  me  for  the  mastery  ;  even  some  of  the  Twelve 
were  so  far  lost  to  their  high  and  responsible  calling 
as  to  begin  to  take  sides,  secretly,  with  the  enemy." 

In  addition  to  these  troubles,  the  outside  barbarians 
in  and  around  Kirtland,  who  fancied  themselves  swin- 
dled by  these  banking  operations,  became  excited,  and 
procured  legal  process  for  the  arrest  of  the  prophet  and 
Elder  Eigdon.  In  the  profane  and  vulgar  language 
of  the  day,  Joseph  and  his  coadjutor  "  run  away"  in 
the  night  of  January  12th,  1838.  It  is  curious  to  see 
how  differently  the  same  thing  is  viewed  by  different 
minds.  The  following  is  the  aspect  of  the  case  when 
viewed  through  Mormon  spectacles : 

"A  new  year  dawned  upon  the  Church  in  Kirtland 
in  all  the  bitterness  of  the  spirit  of  apostate  mobocracy, 
which  continued  to  rage,  and  grow  hotter  and  hotter, 
until  Elder  Rigdon  and  myself  were  obliged  to  flee 
from  its  deadly  influence,  as  did  the  apostles  and 
prophets  of  old,  and  as  Jesus  said,  { When  they  perse- 
cute you  in  one  city,  flee  to  another  ;'  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  12th  of  January,  about  ten  o'clock,  we  left 
Kirtland,  on  horseback,  to  escape  mob  violence,  which 
was  about  to  burst  upon  us,  under  the  color  of  legal 
process  to  cover  their  hellish  designs,  and  save  them- 
selves from  the  just  judgment  of  the  law." 


U  T  A  H    A  N  D    T  H  E    M  O  R  M  O  N  S.  §7 

The  people  were  thoroughly  exasperated,  and  Joseph 
and  his  prime  minister  had  to  run  for  it : 

"The  weather  was  extremely  cold,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  secrete  ourselves  in  our  wagons  sometimes, 
to  elude  the  grasp  of  our  pursuers,  who  continued  their 
race  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  Kirtland, 
armed  with  pistols,  &c.,  seeking  our  lives." 

Once  fairly  beyond  the  risk  of  seizure  by  the  perse- 
cuting Kirtlanders,  the  fugitive  prophet  took  the  mat- 
ter more  leisurely,  and,  after  journeying  about  four 
weeks,  arrived  at  Far  "West,  which  at  this  period  must 
be  regarded  as  the  "Latter-day"  metropolis.  His 
presence  here  had  become  a  necessity.  The  affairs 
of  Zion,  though  prospering  in  point  of  numerical  acces- 
sion, were  any  thing  but  promising,  and  another  col- 
lision with  the  Gentiles  was  evidently  approaching. 

Ever  since  their  expulsion  from  Independence,  the 
Mormons  had  made  the  most  persevering  efforts  to  re- 
turn, and  among  the  means  contemplated  was  a  re- 
sort to  arms,  in  case  milder  means  did  not  succeed. 
They  had  applied  to  the  Governor  for  a  military  force 
to  restore  them  to  their  lost  Eden,  and  also  for  permis- 
sion to  organize  companies  among  themselves,  to  be 
armed  by  the  state.  The  Governor  manifested  his 
willingness  to  reinstate  them  in  their  former  posses- 
sions, so  far  as  lay  in  his  power ;  but,  as  it  was  mani- 
festly impossible  to  keep  a  standing  army  at  Independ- 
ence, there  was  no  guarantee  that  the  same  troubles 
would  not  be  renewed ;  and  he  advised  them  to  con- 
tinue their  reliance  on  the  courts  for  redress.  The 
people  of  Jackson,  however,  were  fully  determined  that 
none  of  the  Saints  should  from  henceforth  settle  in 


88  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

their  midst;  and,  to  put  the  question  at  rest,  they 
made  a  more  than  equitable  proposition  to  purchase 
the  lands  and  improvements  of  the  Mormons,  at  a  price 
to  be  fixed  by  three  disinterested  arbitrators,  with  one 
hundred  per  cent,  in  addition.  Strange  to  say,  this 
extremely  favorable  proposition  was  rejected.  Zion 
had  been  distinctly  located  at  Independence  by  a  rev- 
elation, and  the  prophet  could  not  bear  to  have  the  pre- 
diction falsified ;  and  accordingly,  under  date  of  De- 
cember 5th,  1833,  from  Kirtland,  he  had  written : 
"  You  will  recollect  that  the  Lord  has  said  that  Zion 
should  not  be  removed  out  of  her  place ;  therefore  the 
land  should  not  be  sold,  but  be  held  by  the  Saints,  un- 
til the  Lord,  in  his  wisdom,  opens  a  way  for  your  re- 
turn." 

They  not  only  refused  to  sell  their  property  at  double 
its  value,  in  obedience  to  the  prophet's  injunctions,  but 
instituted  civil  and  criminal  proceedings  against  those 
who  had  been  most  active  in  ejecting  them  from  their 
possessions. 

In  the  mean  time,  precisely  the  same  causes  which 
made  the  Saints  fugitives  from  Independence,  were 
arousing  against  them  the  popular  indignation  in  C aid- 
well  and  Davies  counties.  As  numbers  and  prosperity 
gathered  around  them,  they  became  arrogant,  and  soon 
acquired,  whether  founded  or  unfounded,  their  former 
reputation  for  licentiousness,  thieving,  and  other  kin- 
dred practices.  Matters  went  on  from  bad  to  worse ;  one 
scene  of  violence  led  to  another  a  little  more  flagrant — 
buildings  were  burned,  and  blood  was  shed ;  the  exec- 
utive of  the  state  interfered  and  called  out  the  militia, 
and  something  very  much  resembling  civil  war  began 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  §9 

to  rage  in  this  unlucky  portion  of  the  state.  Which 
party,  the  Mormon  or  anti-Mormon,  committed  the  first 
act  of  open  violence,  is  not  very  clear,  though  the  weight 
of  evidence  in  this  respect  is  against  the  Saints.  At 
all  events,  it  is  quite  evident  that  Joseph  at  this  period 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  resist  the  laws,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, play  the  part  of  Mohammed.  To  further  these  ob- 
jects, he  had  organized  a  formidable  band  of  ruffians, 
as  the  nucleus  of  a  disciplined  military  force,  but  whose 
present  business  it  was  to  inflict  vengeance  upon  apos- 
tates and  obnoxious  Gentiles,  and,  in  fact,  like,  the  ex- 
ecutioners of  the  German  Vehme,  to  commit  any  crime, 
however  horrible,  in  obedience  to  the  mandates  of  tho 
prophet.  These  were  the  "Danites"  or  "Brothers  of 
Gideon"  But  " the  pear  was  not  yet  ripe." 

The  Governor  acted  with  vigor.  A  strong  military 
force  was  organized  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
General  J.  B.  Clark,  who,  by  a  rapid  march,  surround- 
ed Far  West,  and  made  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  with 
some  forty  others,  prisoners,  and  virtually  ended  the 
struggle  without  a  battle.  The  Mormons,  panic-struck, 
delivered  up  their  arms,  and  entered  into  a  treaty  by 
which  they  agreed  to  leave  the  state.  During  this  pe- 
riod of  commotion,  some  lamentable  scenes  occurred, 
exhibiting  the  revengeful  bitterness  of  the  popular 
mind,  among  which  was  the  murder  of  sixteen  Mor- 
mons, including  two  boys,  at  Hawn's  Mill,  by  a  law- 
less band  of  armed  men.  The  Saints  charged  this  das- 
tardly violence  upon  those  in  command  ;  and,  unfortu- 
nately, the  phraseology  of  General  Clark's  instructions, 
and  of  his  subsequent  address  to  the  Mormons,  furnish- 
es some  plausibility  to  the  accusation. 


90  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

In  a  dispatch  from  the  general  to  the  Governor,  dated 
November  10th,  1838,  he  says :  "  There  is  no  crime, 
from  treason  down  to  petit  larceny,  but  these  people, 
or  a  majority  of  them,  have  been  guilty  of — all,  too, 
under  the  counsel  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  the  prophet. 
They  have  committed  treason,  murder,  arson,  bur- 
glary,  robbery,  larceny,  and  perjury.  They  have  so- 
cieties formed  under  the  most  binding  covenants  in 
form,  and  the  most  horrid  oaths,  to  circumvent  the 
laws  and  put  them  at  defiance ;  and  to  plunder,  and 
burn,  and  murder,  and  divide  the  spoils  for  the  use  of 
the  Church." 

It  was  in  answer  to  this  that  the  Governor  wrote  to 
General  Clark,  that  "  the  ringleaders  of  this  rebell- 
ion should  be  made  an  example  of;  and,  if  it  should 
become  necessary  to  the  public  peace,  the  Mormons 
should  be  exterminated  or  expelled  from  the  state" 

This  was  extremely  unguarded,  and  seems  to  have 
been  too  literally  construed.  In  an  address  of  General 
Clark  to  the  Mormons,  we  find  the  following : 

"  Another  thing  yet  remains  for  you  to  comply  with 
— that  is,  that  you  leave  the  state  forthwith ;  and, 
whatever  your  feelings  concerning  this  affair,  whatever 
your  innocence,  it  is  nothing  to  me.  General  Lucas, 
who  is  equal  in  authority  with  me,  has  made  this  treaty 
with  you.  I  am  determined  to  see  it  executed.  The 
orders  of  the  Governor  to  me  were,  that  you  should  be 
exterminated,  and  not  allowed  to  continue  in  the  state ; 
and  had  your  leader  not  been  given  up,  and  the  treaty 
complied  with,  before  this  you  and  your  families  would 
have  been  destroyed,  and  your  houses  in  ashes."  "  I 
did  not  say  that  you  should  go  now ;  but  you  must  not 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


think  of  staying  here  another  season,  or  of  putting  in 
crops,  for  the  moment  you  do,  the  citizens  will  be  upon 
you.  I  am  determined  to  see  the  Governor's  message 
fulfilled,  but  shall  not  come  upon  you  immediately  ; 
do  not  think  that  I  shall  act  as  I  have  done  any  more  ; 
but  if  I  come  again,  because  the  treaty  which  you 
have  made  here  shall  be  broken,  you  need  not  expect 
any  mercy,  but  extermination." 

Making  all  due  allowance  for  the  exasperated  state 
of  the  public  mind,  these  threats  of  "  extermination" 
sound  a  little  too  savage  in  Anglo-Saxon  ears.  They 
were  undoubtedly  intended  to  intimidate  the  Mormons 
into  a  compliance  with  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty 
which  they  had  made.  Bat  they  were  impolitic,  be- 
cause they  gave  plausibility  to  the  idea  that  the  Saints 
were  the  victims  of  a  cruel  and  unrelenting  religious 
persecution,  and  furnished  them  with  one  of  the  surest 
means  of  future  success.  The  prophet  was  not  slow 
in  using  the  weapons  thus  placed  in  his  hands  ;  the  cry 
of  persecution  was  rung  in  all  its  changes  through 
Christendom  ;  his  followers  were  compared  to  the  early 
Christian  martyrs,  suffering  under  the  tortures  inflict- 
ed by  the  enemies  of  the  Church  ;  and  converts  rapidly 
gathered  around  the  new  Zion. 

By  the  treaty  above  referred  to,  the  Mormons  were 
required  to  quit  the  state,  and  five  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  sell  their  property,  pay  their  debts,  and 
aid  them  in  removing.  Many  families  being  destitute, 
and  without  the  means  of  removing,  the  state  appro- 
priated two  thousand  dollars  for  their  relief;  the  citi- 
zens of  the  adjacent  counties  also  contributed  in  money 
and  goods  to  the.  same  object. 


92 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


Once  more  fugitives  and  wanderers,  the  Saints  cross- 
ed the  Mississippi  and  found  refuge  in  the  neighboring 
State  of  Illinois.  The  prophet  and  his  fellow-prisoners 
were  arraigned  for  treason  against  the  state,  and  on  a 


CROSSING    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


preliminary  examination  of  the  case  before  Judge  King, 
some  startling  facts  were  disclosed  in  regard  to  the  de- 
signs of  the  Mormon  chief,  the  dangerous  fanaticism 
of  his  followers,  and  the  atrocities  which  had  been 
sanctioned  by  him. 

It  appears  by  the  testimony  of  Samuel  Avard  that 
the  first  object  of  the  Danite  band  was  "  to  drive  from 
the  county  of  Caldwell  all  those  who  dissented  from 
the  Mormon  Church,  in  which  they  succeeded  admi- 
rably, to  the  satisfaction  of  those  concerned."  "  The 
prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  together  with  his  two  coun- 


UTAH    AND    T  PI  E    MORMONS.  93 

selors  (Hyrum  Smith  and  Sidney  Rigdon),  were  con- 
sidered the  supreme  head  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  Dan- 
ite  band  felt  themselves  as  much  bound  to  obey  them 
as  to  obey  the  supreme  Grod." 

John  Cowill,  another  Mormon,  swore :  "  This  Mor- 
mon Church  has  been  represented  as  being  the  little 
stone  spoken  of  by  Daniel,  which  should  roll  on,  and 
crush  all  opposition  to  it,  and  ultimately  should  be  es- 
tablished as  a  temporal  as  well  as  a  spiritual  king- 
dom. These  things  were  to  be  carried  on  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Danite  band,  as  far  as  force  was 
necessary,  they  being  organized  into  bands  of  tens,  fif- 
ties, &c.,  ready  for  war."  "  I  think  the  original  object 
of  the  Danite  band  was  to  operate  on  the  dissenters ; 
but  afterward  it  grew  into  a  system  to  carry  out  the 
designs  of  the  presidency,  and,  if  it  was  necessary,  to 
use  physical  force  to  uphold  the  kingdom  of  God." 

John  Cleminson  (Mormon)  swore  :  "  Some  time  in 
June  I  attended  two  or  three  Danite  meetings,  and  it 
was  there  taught  as  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the  band  that 
they  should  support  the  presidency,  right  or  wrong ; 
that  whatever  they  said  was  to  be  obeyed,  and  who- 
ever opposed  the  presidency  in  what  they  said  or  de- 
sired done,  should  be  expelled  the  county,  or  have  their 
lives  taken." 

William  W.  Phelps,  then  a  Mormon  dissenter,  but 
now  again  a  member  in  good  standing,  and  member 
of  the  Utah  Legislative  Assembly,  swore :  "  It  was  ob- 
served in  the  meeting,  that  if  any  person  spoke  against 
the  presidency,  they  would  hand  him  over  to  the  hands 
of  the  <  Brothers  of  Gideon:  "  "  The  object  of  the 
meeting  seemed  to  be  to  make  persons  confess  and  re- 


94  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

pent  of  their  sins  to  God  and  the  presidency,  and  ar- 
raign them  for  giving  a  false  account  of  their  money 
and  effects  they  had  on  hand  ;  and  they  said,  whenever 
they  found  one  guilty  of  these  things,  they  were  to  be 
handed  over  to  the  <  Brothers  of  Gideon.'  "  "  There 
was  a  short  speech  made  by  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  about 
carrying  on  the  war,  in  which  he  said  it  was  necessary 
to  take  spoils  to  live  on.  This  was  in  reference  to  the 
dissenters,  as  well  as  to  the  people  of  Davies,  where 
they  were  going."  "Wight  asked  Smith,  Jr.,  twice, 
if  it  had  come  to  the  point  now  to  resist  the  laws. 
Smith  replied,  the  time  had  come  when  he  should  re- 
sist  all  law" 

A  great  deal  of  testimony  was  taken,  disclosing  a 
fearful  catalogue  of  stealing,  robbery,  burning,  &c.,  by 
the  Mormons,  with  the  sanction  of  their  prophet. 

Among  the  affidavits  on  which  the  prosecution  \vas 
founded  is  one  made  by  Thomas  B.  Marsh,  a  seceder, 
in  which  it  is  stated,  "  They  have  among  them  a  com- 
pany, consisting  of  all  that  are  considered  true  Mor- 
mons, called  the  Danites,  who  have  taken  an  oath  to 
support  the  heads  of  the  Church  in  all  things  that  they 
say  or  do,  whether  right  or  wrong."  "  In  a  conversa- 
tion between  Dr.  Avard  and  other  Mormons,  said  Avard 
proposed  to  start  a  pestilence  among  the  Gentiles,  as 
he  called  them,  by  poisoning  their  cows,  fruit,  &c.,  and 
saying  it  was  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  and  said  Avard 
advocated  lying,  for  the  support  of  their  religion,  and 
said  it  was  no  harm  to  lie  for  the  Lord.  The  plan  of 
said  Smith,  the  prophet,  is  to  take  this  state ;  and  he 
professes  to  his  people  to  intend  taking  the  United 
States,  and  ultimately  the  whole  world.  The  prophet 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS.  95 

inculcated  the  notion,  and  it  is  believed  by  every  true 
Mormon,  that  Smith's  prophecies  are  superior  to  the 
laws  of  the  land.  I  have  heard  the  prophet  say  that 
he  would  yet  tread  down  his  enemies  and  walk  on 
their  dead  bodies ;  that,  if  he  was  not  let  alone,  he 
would  be  a  second  Mohammed  to  this  generation,  and 
that  he  would  make  it  one  gore  of  blood  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  that,  like 
Mohammed,  whose  motto,  in  treating  for  peace,  was 
6  the  Alcoran  or  the  sword,'  so  should  it  be  eventually 
with  us,  'Joseph  Smith  or  the  sword?  These  last 
statements  were  made  during  the  last  summer.  The 
number  of  armed  men  at  Adam-on-Diahman  was  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred." 

These  statements  of  Marsh  were  endorsed  by  Orson 
Hyde,  then  a  seceder,  but  now  one  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Utah,  &c., 
in  the  following  terms : 

"  The  most  of  the  statements  in  the  foregoing  dis- 
closures of  T.  R.  Marsh  I  know  to  be  true ;  the  re- 
mainder I  believe  to  be  true.  ORSON  HYDE. 

"  Richmond,  Oct.  24,  1838. 
"  Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  the  day  and  year  above  written, 

"  HENRY  JACOBS,  J.  P." 

All  the  testimony  taken  on  the  examination  was  sub- 
sequently communicated  to  the  Missouri  Legislature  in 
1840,  by  Governor  Boggs,  among  the  documents  ac- 
companying his  message,  and  published.  In  his  mes- 
sage he  thus  speaks  of  the  Mormons : 

"  These  people  had  violated  the  laws  of  the  land  by 


96  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

open  force  and  avowed  resistance  to  them ;  they  had 
undertaken,  without  the  aid  of  the  civil  authority,  to 
redress  their  real  or  fancied  grievances ;  they  had  in- 
stituted among  themselves  a  government  of  their  own, 
independent  and  in  opposition  to  the  government  of 
this  state,  that  had,  at  an  inclement  season  of  the  year, 
driven  the  inhabitants  of  an  entire  county  from  their 
homes,  ravaged  their  crops,  and  destroyed  their  dwell- 
ings. Under  these  circumstances,  it  became  the  im- 
perious duty  of  the  executive  to  interfere,  and  exercise 
the  powers  with  which  he  was  invested  to  protect  the 
lives  and  property  of  our  citizens,  to  restore  order  and 
tranquillity  to  the  county,  and  maintain  the  supremacy 
of  the  laws." 

This  accumulation  of  evidence  furnishes  abundant 
proof  that  the  prophet  had,  at  this  early  period,  infused 
into  his  followers  a  fanatical  belief  in  his  pretensions, 
and  the  most  extravagant  notions  of  their  future  great- 
ness. In  all  likelihood,  the  unexpected  success  of  the 
scheme  induced  Smith  to  believe  that  he  could  play  the 
part  of  the  Arabian  impostor ;  and  he  might  have  done 
so  had  he  possessed  equal  resources,  and  found  a  field 
of  popular  ignorance  and  delusion  sufficiently  extensive 
for  his  operations. 

He  was  thrown  into  prison,  where  he  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1839,  when  he  managed  to  make  his  es- 
cape and  join  his  followers-in  Illinois. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


97 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Nauvoo. — Revelation  to  build  Temple  and  Tavern. — Nauvoo  Legion. 
— Letter-writers. — Joseph  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency. — Letter  to 
Clay  and  Calhoun. 

THE  Illinoisans  received  the  Saints  with  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  favor,  and  under  the  unceasing  cry 
of  persecution,  converts,  old  and  new,  flocked  in  from 
all  quarters.  They  established  themselves  in  a  bend 
of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  county  of  Hancock,  where  the 
village  of  Commerce  had  been  laid  out  by  its  propri- 
etor, the  name  of  which  they  afterward  changed  to 
Nauvoo.  Nauvoo  was  one  of  the  names  of  one  of  the 
numerous  petty  chiefs  in  British  India.  About  a  year 
after  their  involuntary  exode  from  Missouri,  something 
like  fifteen  thousand  Saints  were  supposed  to  be  settled 
in  and  around  the  new  city.  To  give  an  impetus  to 
the  gathering,  Joseph,  after  an  unusual  interval,  again 
mounted  the  tripod,  and  put  forth  an  elaborate  revela- 
tion (January,  1841),  in  which,  among  other  things, 
Nauvoo  was  duly  appointed  one  of  the  stakes,  and  a 
temple  ordered  to  be  built ;  to  which  end,  the  Saints 
far  and  near  were  commanded  to  come  with  their  gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  and  other  materiel,  of  which  a 
goodly  enumeration  was  made. 

One  of  the  most  powerful  levers  which  he  had  in- 
vented for  moving  his  disciples  in  temple  building  was 
the  doctrine  of  baptism  for  the  dead — that  is,  that  the 
E 


98 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


MORMON   BAPTISM. 


living  could  be  baptized  for,  and  thus  save  their  dead 
friends — which  baptism  must  be  performed  in  the  tem- 
ple ;  no  other  place  would  give  it  the  requisite  efficacy. 
The  Mormon  divinity,  however,  was  becoming  im- 
patient at  the  various  delays  in  constructing  a  res- 
idence for  him  on  this  mundane  sphere,  and,  to  stim- 
ulate and  encourage  his  followers,  he  concluded  to 
revise  this  doctrine,  to  suit  the  emergencies  of  the  pe- 
riod, in  the  following  terms  : 

"  But  I  command  you  all,  ye  my  saints,  to  build  a 
house  unto  me  ;  and  I  grant  unto  you  a  sufficient  time 
'to  build  a  house  unto  me,  and  during  this  time  your 


UTAH  AND   THE  MORMONS.  99 

baptisrns  shall  be  acceptable  unto  me.  But  behold,  at 
the  end  of  this  appointment,  your  baptisms  shall  not  be 
acceptable  unto  me ;  and  if  you  do  not  these  things  at 
the  end  of  the  appointment,  ye  shall  be  rejected  as  a 
Church  with  your  dead,  saith  the  Lord  your  God.  For 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  after  you  have  had  suffi- 
cient time  to  build  a  house  to  me,  wherein  the  or- 
dinance of  baptizing  for  the  dead  belongeth,  and  for 
which  the  same  was  instituted  from  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world,  your  baptisms  for  your  dead  can 
not  be  acceptable  unto  me ;  for  therein  are  the  keys  of 
the  holy  priesthood,  ordained,  that  you  may  receive 
honor  and  glory." 

It  was  quite  as  essential  that  the  Mormon  prophet 
should  be  provided  for  as  the  Mormon  Deity.  Accord- 
ingly, this  same  revelation  provides  for  the  erection  of 
a  tavern,  in  which  Joseph  was  to  have  his  head-quar- 
ters. 

"  Therefore  let  my  servant  Joseph,  and  his  seed  after 
him,  have  place  in  that  house  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, forever  and  ever,  saith  the  Lord ;  and  let  the 
name  of  that  house  be  called  the  Nauvoo  House  ;  and 
let  it  be  a  delightful  habitation  for  man,  and  a  resting- 
place  for  the  weary  traveler,"  &c. 

This  change  in  the  character  of  the  prophet's  resi- 
dence is  significant  of  his  growing  habits  of  intemper- 
ance and  licentiousness — it  was  only  two  years  subse- 
quent that  his  revelation  in  favor  of  polygamy  was  con- 
cocted— and  a  tavern,  with  its  bar,  and  multiplicity  of 
rooms,  closets,  and  passages,  would  seem  to  be  a  fit  and 
characteristic  residence  for  the  chief  of  Mormondon  at 
this  period.  But  alas  for  the  prediction !  In  a  few 


100  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

years  from  this  time,  the  prophet  slept  in  a  bloody 
grave,  and  his  family  and  followers  were  driven  from 
the  place  which  he  and  his  seed,  from  generation  to 
generation,  were  to  occupy  "forever  and  ever" 

Under  the  influence  of  fanaticism,  fiercely  stimula- 
ted "by  persecution,  the  gathering  Saints  were  active  in 
all  departments  of  industry,  and  soon  became  a  thriv- 
ing community.  Buildings  were  erected,  farms  culti- 
vated, the  tavern  was  built,  the  temple  progressed 
apace,  and  Nauvoo  rapidly  increased.  The  free  peo- 
ple of  Illinois,  indignant  that  so  peaceable,  industrious, 
and  virtuous  a  community  should  have  been  perse- 
cuted and  driven  into  exile  by  the  slaveholders  of 
Missouri,  extended  to  them  a  friendly  and  fostering 
hand.  Nauvoo  received  from  the  Legislature  a  charter 
with  extraordinary  privileges,  among  which  was  the 
power  to  organize  a  military  force,  armed  by  the  state, 
and  under  the  command  of  the  prophet  as  lieutenant- 
general.  A  formidable  band,  amounting,  ultimately, 
to  4000  men,  called  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  was  organized, 
armed,  and  drilled,  ready  for  any  emergency,  however 
desperate,  to  which  the  ambition  or  necessities  of  their 
leader  might  give  rise. 

Reviews  were  held  from  time  to  time,  and  flags  pre- 
sented, and  Joseph  appeared  on  all  those  occasions 
with  a  splendid  staff,  in  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance 
of  a  full-blown  military  commander.  The  singular 
spectacle  was  presented  of  an  independent  military 
power  growing  and  perfecting  itself  within  the  state, 
and  rendered  fierce  and  dangerous  by  religious  fanati- 
cism, and  the  recollections  of  persecutions  suffered. 
This  legion  is  described  by  an  officer  of  the  U.  S. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  1Q3 

army,  in  September,  1842,  as  approximating,  in  regard 
to  appointments  and  discipline,  "  very  closely  to  our 
regular  forces."  The  Mormons  at  this  time,  in  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  were  supposed  to 
number  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and 
were  on  the  increase ;  and  this  standing  army  was 
capable  of  an  indefinite  increase.  "Why  was  the  mili- 
tary organization  necessary  ?  The  idea  of  playing  tho 
part  of  Mohammed,  and  marching  back  in  triumph  to 
the  Mecca  of  the  Saints  in  Jackson  county,  which  had 
already  floated  through  the  brain  of  the  prophet,  had 
probably  never  been  abandoned.  Joseph,  as  the  mouth- 
piece of  the  Mormon  Deity,  had  predicted,  that  unless 
justice  were  speedily  done  to  his  persecuted  followers, 
"  the  Lord  God  himself  would  arise  and  come  forth 
out  of  his  hiding-place,  and  in  his  fury  vex  the  nation ;" 
and  the  idea  of  being  the  executioner  of  the  celestial 
vengeance  may  furnish  a  reason  for  the  organization 
of  so  formidable  a  band.  But,  fortunately,  he  was  too 
much  engaged  in  pandering  to  his  animal  propensities 
to  be  capable  of  using  efficiently  the  means  of  mis- 
chief within  his  grasp.  To  organize  and  conduct  a 
violent  and  treasonable  revolution  in  this  country  re- 
quires a  larger  reach  of  intellect,  greater  self-denial, 
and  more  determined  energy  than  belonged  to  the 
Mormon  chief. 

Joseph  was  a  skillful  tactician.  Among  the  ways 
and  means  by  which  he  and  his  community  became 
favorably  known  to  the  world  was  that  of  newspaper 
correspondence,  which  forms  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
journals  of  the  day.  Strangers  would  suddenly  ap- 
pear at  Nauvoo,  and  the  columns  of  the  widely-circu- 


104  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

lated  New  York  dailies  were  often  garnished  with 
glowing  accounts  of  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  the 
fascinations  of  the  society,  and,  above  all,  the  extraor- 
dinary character  of  the  prophet  and  his  nobility.  One, 
a  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  tells  us  that 

"  Joseph  Smith,  the  President  of  the  Church,  proph- 
et, seer,  and  revelator,  is  thirty-six  years  of  age,  six  feet 
high  in  his  pumps,  weighing  two  hundred  and  twelve 
pounds.  He  is  a  man  of  the  highest  talent ,  and  great 
independence  of  character,  firm  in  his  integrity,  and 
devoted  to  his  religion ;  in  a  word,  he  is  a  per  se,  as 
President  Tyler  would  say.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  bold, 
powerful,  and  convincing,  possessing  both  the  suaviter 
in  modo  and  the  fortiter  in  re  ;  as  a  leader,  wise  and 
prudent,  yet  fearless ;  as  a  military  commander,  brave 
and  determined;  as  a  citizen,  worthy,  affable,  and 
kind — bland  in  his  manners,  and  of  noble  bearing." 

Hyrum  Smith  and  other  lions  in  the  Nauvoo  mena- 
gerie are  described  in  equally  flattering  terms. 

Another  says :  "  Joseph  Smith,  the  Mormon  prophet, 
is  a  singular  character ;  he  lives  at  the  '  Nauvoo  Man- 
sion House,'  which  is,  I  understand,  intended  to  become 
a  home  for  the  stranger  and  traveler.  The  prophet  is 
a  kind,  cheerful,  sociable  companion ;  and  as  I  saw  the 
prophet  and  his  brother  Hyrum  conversing  together 
one  day,  I  thought  I  beheld  two  of  the  greatest  men 
of  the  nineteenth  century." 

These  were  the  palmy  days  of  Mormondom.  Mis- 
sionaries had  been  sent  into  all  accessible  parts  of  the 
world,  and  their  zealous  efforts  were  drawing  multi- 
tudes of  credulous  people  within  the  Latter-day  vor- 
tex. Joseph  seemed  to  be  in  the  full  tide  of  prosper- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


ity,  and  in  a  fair  way  of  realizing  all  his  predictions. 
He  was  prophet  and  seer,  commander-in-chief,  mayor, 
and  tavern-keeper  within  his  dominions,  and  as  abso- 
lute in  these  several  capacities  as  the  Grand  Lama  of 
Thibet.  He  became  also  a  politician,  and  on  the  15th 
of  February,  1844,  was  duly  put  forth  as  a  candidate 
for  the  presidency  by  the  Times  and  Seasons,  accom- 
panied with  a  few  columns  of  editorial,  in  which  he 
was  highly  lauded  for  his  great  qualities.  To  give 
eclat  to  this  movement,  he  published  a  long  address, 
written  in  a  dashing,  devil-may-care  style,  containing 
some  shrewd  suggestions,  and  curiously  illustrating 
the  character  of  the  man,  in  making  cunning  appeals 
to  the  class  of  minds  which  he  had  gathered  around 
him.  At  this  period,  he  was  ambitious  of  being  con- 
sidered as  a  learned  man,  and  the  document  is  queeiiy 
interlarded  with  scraps  of  almost  all  the  known  and 
unknown  languages,  dead  and  living.  He  goes  onto 
extol  the  patriotism  of  the  early  presidents  down  to, 
and  including,  the  administration  of  General  Jackson, 
quoting  from  their  inaugurals  and  messages,  and  com- 
mending their  policy.  General  Jackson's  administra- 
tion he  regards  as  the  "  acme  of  American  glory,  lib- 
erty, and  prosperity  ;"  but  the  advent  of  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren  changes  the  scene  : 

"  At  the  age,  then,  of  sixty  years,  our  blooming  re- 
public began  to  decline  under  the  withering  touch  of 
Martin  Van  Buren.  Disappointed  ambition,  thirst  for 
power,  pride,  corruption,  party-spirit,  faction,  patron- 
age, perquisites,  fame,  tangling  alliances,  priestcraft, 
and  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places,  struck  hands, 
and  reveled  in  midnight  splendor.  Trouble,  vexation, 

E  2 


106  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

perplexity,  and  contention,  mingled  with  hope,  fear,  and 
murmuring,  rumbled  through  the  union,  and  agitated 
the  whole  nation  as  would  an  earthquake  at  the  cen- 
tre of  the  earth  the  world,  heaving  the  sea  beyond  its 
bounds,  and  shaking  the  everlasting  hills." 

He  is  particularly  severe  on  Mr.  Van  Buren's  opin- 
ion in  reference  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia : 

"  Poor  little  Matty  made  his  rhapsodical  sweep  with 
the  fact  before  his  eyes  that  the  State  of  New  York, 
his  native  state,  had  abolished  slavery  without  a  strug- 
gle or  a  groan.  Great  God  !  how  independent !  From 
henceforth  slavery  is  tolerated  where  it  exists,  Consti- 
tution or  no  Constitution,  people  or  no  people,  right  or 
wrong — ^vox  MattiJ  'vox  diaboW — 'the  voice  of 
Matty,'  *  the  voice  of  the  devil ;'  and,  peradventure,  his 
great  £  sub-treasury'  scheme  was  a  piece  of  the  same 
mind ;  but  the  man  and  his  measures  have  such  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  anecdote  of  the  "Welshman 
and  his  cart-tongue,  that,  when  the  Constitution  was 
so  long  that  it  allowed  slavery  at  the  Capitol  of  a  free 
people,  it  could  not  be  cut  off;  but  when  it  was  so  short 
that  it  needed  a  sub-treasury  to  save  the  funds  of  the 
nation,  it  could  be  spliced.  Oh,  granny,  what  a  long 
tail  our  puss  has  got !  As  a  Greek  might  say,  hyste- 
ronproteron,  the  cart  before  the  horse  ;  but  his  mighty 
whisk  through  the  great  national  fire  for.  the  presiden- 
tial chestnuts  burned  the  locks  of  his  glory  with  the 
blaze  of  his  folly!" 

General  Harrison  appeared  "  as  a  star  among  the 
storm-clouds  for  better  weather,"  but  was  soon  taken 
away ;  and  "  subsequent  events,  all  things  considered — 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


Van  Buren's  downfall,  Harrison's  exit,  and  Tyler's  self- 
sufficient  turn  to  the  whole  —  go  to  show,  as  a  Chaldean 
might  exclaim,  Beram  etai  elauh  beshmayaugh  gau- 
hah  rauzeen  —  Certainly  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  to 
reveal  secrets. 

"  No  honest  man  can  doubt  for  a  moment  but  the 
glory  of  American  liberty  is  on  the  wane,  and  that  ca- 
lamity and  confusion  will  sooner  or  later  destroy  the 
peace  of  the  people." 

He  winds  up  characteristically  with  a  long  list  of 
what  he  would  do  if  placed  in  the  presidential  chair. 

In  the  November  previous,  Joseph  had  written  to 
Henry  Clay  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  in  anticipation  that 
they  would  be  candidates  for  the  presidency,  to  ascer- 
tain what  would  be  their  rule  of  action  in  relation  to 
the  alleged  wrongs  which  the  Saints  had  sustained  in 
Missouri.  He  received  answers  from  both  these  dis- 
tinguished men.  Mr.  Clay,  in  general  terms,  sympa- 
thized with  the  sufferings  which  they  had  sustained 
under  injustice,  but  declined  giving  any  pledges  or 
promises  ;  and  Mr.  Calhoun  reiterated  that  which  he 
had  already  stated  in  an  interview  with  the  Mormon 
chief  at  Washington,  to  the  effect  that  the  case  did  not 
come  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment. The  prophet  replied  to  both  ;  and  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  his  letter  to  Mr.  Clay,  written  May  15th, 
1844,  will  exhibit  his  aptitude  for  wordy  vituperation  : 

"  In  your  answer  to  my  questions  last  fall,  that  pe- 
culiar tact  of  modern  politicians,  declaring,  '  if  you 
ever  enter  into  that  high  office,  you  must  go  into  it 
free  and  unfettered,  with  no  guarantee  but  such  as 
are  to  be  drawn  from  your  whole  life,  character,  and 


108  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

conduct]  so  much  resembles  a  lottery- vender's  sign, 
with  the  goddess  of  good  luck  sitting  on  the  car  of  for- 
tune astraddle  of  the  horn  of  plenty,  and  driving  the 
merry  steeds  of  beatitude  without  rein  or  bridle,  that 
I  can  not  help  exclaiming,  0  frail  man !  what  have 
you  done  that  will  exalt  you  ?" 

"  Crape  the  heavens  with  wreeds  of  woe,  gird  the 
earth  with  sackcloth,  and  let  hell  mutter  one  melody 
in  commemoration  of  fallen  splendor  !  for  the  glory  of 
America  has  departed,  and  God  will  set  a  flaming 
sword  to  guard  the  tree  of  liberty,  while  such  mint- 
tithing  Herods  as  Van  Buren,  Boggs,  Benton,  Calhoun, 
and  Clay  are  thrust  out  of  the  realms  of  virtue  as  fit 
subjects  for  the  kingdom  of  fallen  greatness." 

"  Why,  sir,  the  condition  of  the  whole  earth  is  la- 
mentable. Texas  dreads  the  teeth  and  toe-nails  of 
Mexico ;  Oregon  has  the  rheumatism,  brought  on  by 
a  horrid  exposure  to  the  heat  and  cold  of  British  and 
American  trappers  ;  Canada  has  caught  a  bad  cold 
from  extreme  fatigue  in  the  patriot  war ;  South  Amer- 
ica has  the  headache,  caused  by  bumps  against  the 
beams  of  Catholicity  and  Spanish  sovereignty ;  Spain 
has  the  gripes  from  age  and  inquisition  ;  France  trem- 
bles and  wastes  under  the  effects  of  contagious  dis- 
eases ;  England  groans  with  the  gout,  and  wiggles 
with  wine ;  Italy  and  the  German  States  are  pale  with 
the  consumption ;  Prussia,  Poland,  and  the  little  con- 
tiguous dynasties,  duchies,  and  domains,  have  the 
mumps  so  severely,  that  '  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and 
the  whole  heart  is  faint ;'  Russia  has  the  cramp  by 
lineage  ;  Turkey  has  the  numb  palsy  ;  Africa,  from 
the  curse  of  God,  has  lost  the  use  of  her  limbs ;  China 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  1Q9 

is  ruined  by  the  Queen's  evil,  and  the  rest  of  Asia  fear- 
fully exposed  to  the  small-pox  the  natural  way  from 
British  peddlers ;  the  Islands  of  the  Sea  are  almost  dead 
with  the  scurvy ;  the  Indians  are  blind  and  lame ;  and 
the  United  States,  which  ought  to  be  the  good  physi- 
cian, with  '  balm  from  Gilead'  and  an  <  asylum  for  the 
oppressed?  has  boosted,  and  is  boosting  up  into  the 
council-chamber  of  the  government  a  clique  of  polit- 
ical gamblers,  to  play  for  the  old  clothes  and  old  shoes 
of  a  sick  world,  and  '  no  pledge,  no  promise  to  any 
particular  portion  of  the  people*  that  the  rightful 
heirs  will  ever  receive  a  cent  of  their  fathers'  legacy ! 
Away  with  such  self-important,  self-aggrandizing,  and 
self-willed  demagogues !  their  friendship  is  colder  than 
polar  ice,  and  their  professions  meaner  than  the  dam- 
nation of  hell." 

These  letters,  published  far  and  wide,  served  their 
intended  purpose  of  increasing  the  notoriety  which  he 
already  enjoyed. 

The  query  very  naturally  arises,  Had  this  notorious 
individual  any  idea  that  he  could  be  elected  to  the 
presidency  ?  Probably  not  at  the  then  impending  cam- 
paign. But  the  frog  in  the  fable,  which  was  ambitious 
of  the  size  of  the  ox,  acted  in  good  faith  in  trying  to 
magnify  his  dimensions  ;  and  why  doubt  the  bona 
fides  of  Joseph  Smith  ?  The  unceasing  tide  of  Mor- 
mon emigration  had  borne  him  upon  its  flood  to  a 
height  of  power  and  grandeur  little  dreamed  of  by  him 
at  the  outset  of  his  career,  and  he  began  to  fancy  him- 
self to  be  at  least  in  possession  of  the  balance  of  polit- 
ical power.  He  had  a  firm  faith  in  the  unbounded 
credulity  of  mankind ;  and  having  already  succeeded 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


far  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations,  he  became 
confident  of  success  in  any  thing  he  might  undertake. 
In  his  letter  to  General  Bennett,  he  says,  "  I  combat 
the  errors  of  ages  ;  I  meet  the  violence  of  mobs  ;  I  cope 
with  illegal  proceedings  from  executive  authority;  I 
cut  the  Grordian  knot  of  powers,  and  I  solve  the  math- 
ematical problems  of  universities,  with  truth,  diamond 
truth,  and  God  is  my  right-hand  man"  But,  what- 
ever may  have  been  his  own  hopes  or  expectations, 
there  are  those  among  his  followers  in  Utah  who  firm- 
ly believe  he  would  have  been  elected  in  1844  had  not 
his  career  been  cut  short  by  an  untimely  death.  It 
certainly  affords  matter  for  curious  speculation,  in  re- 
gard to  the  state  of  society  at  Washington,  with  Jo- 
seph at  the  head  of  the  nation,  and  the  fashionable  hos- 
pitalities of  the  White  House  in  the  keeping  of  his  for- 
ty wives  ;  to  say  nothing  of  his  cabinet,  composed  of 
Elders  Brigham  Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  &c.,  with 
their  respective  harems.  This,  to  use  one  of  the  proph- 
et's pedantic  phrases,  would  have  been  a  pretty  fair  in- 
stance of  the  prevalence  of  the  "  vox  diaboli" 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Apparent  Prosperity.  —  Internal  Difficulties.  — Arrogance.  — Joseph's 
Licentiousness.  —  Polygamy.  —  Spiritual  Wife-ism. — Troubles  with 
Higbee  and  Foster. — Attempt  to  arrest  Joseph. — Joseph  and  Hyrum 
surrender  on  Pledge  of  Safety. — Are  murdered. — Character  of  Jo- 
seph Smith. 

THE  Mormon  community  at  this  period  presented 
a  spectacle  of  much  apparent  prosperity:  increasing 
numbers,  great  industry  among  the  masses,  an  efficient 
military  organization,  the  protection  and  favor  of  a 
powerful  state,  and  its  chief  one  of  the  candidates  for 
the  presidency.  "Why  could  it  not  continue  ?  Because 
it  contained  within  itself  the  seeds  of  its  own  destruc- 
tion. It  was  a  strange  combination  of  incongruous 
materials ;  a  festering  mass  of  arrogance,  discontent, 
hypocrisy,  chicanery,  licentiousness,  and  crime;  and 
was  surely  destined  to  internal  commotion,  collision 
with  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  ultimate  dispersion. 

Large  numbers,  attracted  by  the  novelty  and  out- 
side appearances,  like  insects  gathering  into  the  open 
mouth  of  the  alligator,  to  be  drawn  into  the  reptile's 
maw,  were  hopelessly  ruined ;  and  these  were  discon- 
tented. The  fanatical  portion  were  arrogant,  and,  in 
their  estimation,  the  rights  of  the  Gentiles  were  of  the 
smallest  weight  in  the  balance  against  the  superior 
privileges  of  the  Saints.  These  feelings  were  necessa- 
rily fostered  and  brought  into  terrible  activity  by  the 


H2  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

whole  tenor  of  Mormon  teaching.  Both  the  press  and 
the  pulpit  were  rife  with  the  dismal  condition  of  the 
Gentile  world  ;  calamities  by  "  flood  and  field,"  earth- 
quakes, fires,  popular  commotions,  rumors  and  pros- 
pects of  war,  which  were  regarded  as  the  sure  fore- 
bodings of  its  speedy  destruction.  The  Saints,  how- 
ever, like  the  followers  of  the  camp  on  the  eve  of  battle, 
were  to  come  in  and  enjoy  the  spoils. 

"It  is  a  day  of  strange  appearances.  Every  thing 
indicates  something  more  than  meets  the  eye.  Every 
nation  is  opening  events  which  astonish  mankind: 
even  the  heart  of  man  begins  to  melt  at  the  prospect 
before  it.  The  unquenchable  thirst  for  news ;  the  con- 
tinuity of  emigration ;  the  wars  and  rumors  of  wars, 
with  many  other  signs  of  the  distress  of  nations  from 
the  Old  World — as  it  is  called  across  the  ocean — whis- 
pers so  loud  to  the  understanding,  that  he  that  runs 
may  read  the  label  on  the  eastern  sky.  The  end  is 
nigh"— 'Times  and  Seasons,  p.  642. 

The  following  is  from  a  discourse  delivered  by  Hy- 
rum  Smith  at  the  April  Conference,  1844. 

"  The  reason  why  I  feel  so  good  is  because  I  have 
a  big  soul ;  we  have  gathered  out  all  the  big  souls  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth ;  the  Gospel  picks  out  all  the  big 
souls  out  of  all  creation ;  and  we  will  get  all  the  big 
souls  out  of  all  the  nations,  and  we  shall  have  the 
largest  city  in  the  world;  God  Almighty  has  made 
men's  souls  according  to  the  society  which  he  lives  in, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  and  when  men  come  to  live 
with  the  Mormons,  their  souls  siuell  as  if  they  were 
going  to  stride  the  planets." — P.  597. 

Sidney  Blgdon,  at  the  same  Conference,  was  par- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


ticularly  spicy  on  the  outside  barbarians  :  "I  want 
devils  to  gratify  themselves,  and  if  howling,  yelling, 
yelping  will  do  you  any  good,  do  it  till  you  are  all 
damned.  If  calling  us  devils,  &c.,  will  do  you  any 
good,  let  us  have  the  whole  of  it,  and  you  can  then  go 
your  way  to  hell  without  a  grunt." 

Elder  Kimball,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  was  pe- 
culiarly felicitous  :  "  They  will  be  glad  to  black  our 
boots  and  lick  the  dust  that  is  under  our  feet,  and  this 
is  nothing  to  what  will  come  to  pass  ;  I  might  stand 
here  all  day  and  tell  you  things  of  the  future,  and  you 
would  not  believe  the  half  of  it." 

In  fine,  the  Gentiles  were  decidedly  a  scurvy  race, 
condemned  to  speedy  destruction,  and  of  no  more  ac- 
count than  the  felon  who  already  feels  the  tightening 
squeeze  of  the  halter.  Under  such  circumstances,  was 
it  very  strange  for  the  true  believer  occasionally  to  an- 
ticipate events,  and  make  free  with  Gentile  goods  a 
little  before  the  day  of  final  execution  ?  Accordingly, 
we  are  regaled  with  the  same  old  complaints  against 
the  Saints,  for  nearly  all  the  crimes  in  the  calendar, 
which  had  previously  been  made  against  them  in  Mis- 
souri, and,  unfortunately,  the  criminal  records  of  Han- 
cock county  bear  strong  evidence  of  their  truth. 

But  the  most  fruitful  element  of  internal  commo- 
tion, and  that  which  more  immediately  led  to  the  proph- 
et's death,  was  the  introduction  of  polygamy  as  one  of 
the  numerous  privileges  of  the  Saints.  This  extraor- 
dinary addition  to  the  curious  collection  of  Mormon 
doctrines  and  practices  grew  legitimately  out  of  the 
character  of  Joseph  himself,  which  was  a  combination 
of  cunning  and  sensuality.  The  latter  quality,  indeed, 


UTAH   AND  THE    MORMONS. 


seems  eventually  to  have  become  the  absorbing  and 
governing  passion  of  his  soul,  which  respected  neither 
the  ties  of  kindred  nor  friendship  ;  nor  do  his  followers 
take  much  pains  to  conceal  this  feature  of  his  charac- 
ter. A  devout  Mormon  at  Salt  Lake  informed  me 
that  Joseph's  wife  adopted  five  orphan  girls,  brought 
them  up  with  great  care,  and  became  much  attached 
to  them  ;  and  that  two  of  them,  as  they  grew  up  to 
womanhood  at  Nauvoo,  became  the  victims  of  his  im- 
proper solicitations,  and  were  turned  away  by  the  in- 
dignant wife.  His  unfortunate  proclivity  in  this  di- 
rection is  spoken  of  as  a  failing  which  was  intended  as 
a  trial  of  their  faith,  rather  than  as  a  vice  to  be  con- 
demned. It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  having  revelations  accusing  himself  of  falling 
away,  and  threatening  punishment,  which  were  suc- 
ceeded by  other  revelations  that  he  had  repented  and 
was  forgiven  ;  and  in  this  the  pious  Saint  sees  strong 
confirmation  of  the  truth  of  his  pretensions,  reasoning 
that  such  denunciatory  oracles  would  not  have  been 
invented  by  himself.  The  prophet's  habits  did  not 
mend  with  increasing  years  and  prosperity  ;  and  these 
threatening  and  whitewashing  revelations,  to  satisfy 
the  scruples  of  the  over-prudish,  became  irksome.  The 
celestial  powers  were  again  invoked,  and  on  the  12th 
of  July,  1843,  responded  by  granting  to,  and  rather  en- 
joining upon,  the  Saints  the  practice  of  polygamy. 

The  prophet  was  aware  that  he  was  entering  upon 
a  ticklish  experiment  even  with  his  own  disciples,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  Gentiles  ;  and  he  prefaced  its  recep- 
tion by  pretending  to  be  in  great  trouble.  He  told 
some  of  his  most  influential  followers  that  if  they  knew 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


what  a  hard  and  unpalatable  revelation  he  had  had, 
they  would  drive  him  from  the  city.  The  heavenly 
powers,  however,  were  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and  a  day 
was  appointed  when  the  important  mandate  was  to  be 
submitted  to  a  convocation  of  the  authorities  of  the 
Church.  The  time  arrived;  the  priests  and  elders 
convened  ;  but  Joseph,  in  virtuous  desperation,  con- 
cluded rather  to  flee  the  city  than  be  the  medium  of 
communicating  a  matter  so  repugnant  to  his  mind. 
He  mounted  his  horse  and  galloped  from  the  town, 
but  was  met  by  an  angel  with  a  drawn  sword,  and 
threatened  with  instant  destruction  unless  he  imme- 
diately returned  and  fulfilled  his  mission.  He  return- 
ed, accordingly,  in  submissive  despair,  and  made  the 
important  communication  to  the  assembled  notables. 
Such  is  substantially  the  account  of  the  matter  given 
by  simple-minded  believers  at  Salt  Lake. 

A  revelation  promulgated  with  such  awful  sanc- 
tions could  not  but  make  a  deep  impression  upon  cred- 
ulous and  superstitious  minds.  A  copy  is  given,  by 
way  of  appendix,  from  the  "Deseret  News  Extra"  of 
September  14,  1852.  From  its  commencement,  it 
would  appear  that  the  prophet,  in  the  first  instance, 
inquired  how  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  David, 
and  Solomon  were  justified  in  having  "many  wives 
and  concubines  ;"  and  that  the  Mormon  divinity  takes 
the  interrogatory  as  a  sort  of  text,  and  branches  out 
into  a  new  set  of  definitions  in  regard  to  adultery,  and 
establishes  a  new  order  in  the  Church,  prefacing  the 
whole  with  dire  threats  of  damnation  against  all  who 
should  refuse  to  obey.  "Whether  the  main  subject 
would  ever  have  been  entertained  by  the  heavenly 


UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS. 


councils,  had  it  not  been  first  broached  by  Joseph,  must 
probably  forever  remain  a  mystery.  Perhaps,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  laws  which  regulate  such  deities, 
the  priest  must  first  mount  the  tripod,  and  propound  a 
query  before  the  oracle  can  speak.  The  same  simple- 
minded  believers  to  whom  allusion  has  been  made  have 
expressed  to  me  their  deep  regret  that  the  prophet 
should  ever  have  questioned  the  Lord  on  the  subject. 

The  cream  of  this  long  revelation  will  be  found  in 
the  last  paragraph  but  one,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  And  again,  as  pertaining  to  the  law  of  the  priest- 
hood :  if  any  man  espouse  a  virgin,  and  desire  to 
espouse  another,  and  the  first  give  her  consent;  and 
if  he  espouse  the  second,  and  they  are  virgins,  and 
have  vowed  to  no  other  man,  then  he  is  justified  ;  he 
can  not  commit  adultery,  for  they  are  given  unto  him  ; 
for  he  can  not  commit  adultery  with  that  that  belong- 
eth  unto  him,  and  to  none  else  ;  and  if  he  have  ten 
virgins  given  unto  him  by  this  law,  he  can  not  commit 
adultery  ;  for  they  belong  to  him,  and  they  are  given 
unto  him  —  therefore  he  is  justified.  But  if  one  or  ei- 
ther of  the  ten  virgins,  after  she  is  espoused,  shall  be 
with  another  man,  she  has  committed  adultery,  and 
shall  be  destroyed  ;  for  they  are  given  unto  him  to 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  according  to  my  com- 
mandment, and  to  fulfill  the  promise  which  was  given 
by  my  Father  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  and 
for  their  exaltation  in  the  eternal  worlds  that  they  may 
bear  the  souls  of  men  ;  for  herein  is  the  work  of  my 
Father  continued  that  he  may  be  glorified." 

By  the  next  paragraph  due  provision  is  made  in  case 
the  first  wife  should  prove  contumacious,  and  not  give 
her  consent  : 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


"  Therefore  it  shall  be  lawful  in  one,  if  she  receive 
not  this  law.,  for  him  to  receive  all  things,  whatsoever 
I  the  Lord  his  God  will  give  unto  him,  because  she 
did  not  believe  and  administer  unto  him  according  to 
my  word  ;  and  then  she  becomes  the  transgressor,  and 
he  is  exempt  from  the  law  of  Sarah,  who  administered 
unto  Abraham  according  to  the  law  when  I  command- 
ed Abraham  to  take  Hagar  to  wife." 

The  oracle  is  careful  to  provide  for  future  changes 
of  policy  in  the  celestial  councils  on  this  subject  :  "  And 
now,  as  pertaining  to  this  law,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  I  will  reveal  more  unto  you  hereafter  ;  therefore 
let  this  suffice  for  the  present." 

This  revelation,  of  course,  legalized  Joseph's  numer- 
ous left-hand  marriages  already  contracted,  and  gave 
a  general  license  for  future  matrimonial  engagements. 
It  was  not  generally  made  known  among  the  Saints  at 
the  time,  but  seems  to  have  been  kept  as  a  choice  tit- 
bit for  the  prophet,  and  those  of  his  followers  who  were 
judged  to  be  prepared  for  so  important  a  development 
of  Mormonism.  The  Gentiles,  of  course,  were  to  be 
kept  in  ignorance  of  the  true  state  of  the  affair.  The 
prophet  was  diligent  in  persuading  his  most  confiden- 
tial friends  to  become  polygamists.  Some  were  ready 
for  the  sacrifice.  Brigham  Young  was  the  first,  and 
Heber  C.  Kimball  the  second  who  followed  his  exam- 
ple. But  others  needed  urging,  and  some  utterly  re- 
fused, among  the  latter  of  whom  was  Hyrum  Smith, 
who  is  said  to  have  remained  a  faithful  and  devoted 
husband  to  his  first  and  only  wife. 

In  the  mean  time,  it  became  essential  to  prepare  the 
Saints  generally,  and  after  them  the  Gentiles,  for  the 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


reception  of  the  new  revelation.  This  was  the  origin 
of  what  has  been  called  the  spiritual  wife,  doctrine  — 
a  species  of  Platonism  which  has  not  been  very  clear- 
ly defined,  but  by  virtue  of  which  a  Saint  might  be 
favored  with  a  vivid  internal  impression,  or  dictate, 
that  a  certain  woman  (not  his  wife)  was  his  spiritual 
wife,  and,  if  assented  to,  the  relationship  brought  with 
it  privileges  and  obligations  not  necessary  now  to  de- 
tail. This  doctrine  was  evidently  put  forth  as  a  feel- 
er, to  try  the  temper  of  the  uninitiated  on  this  delicate 
subject,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  open  recognition 
of  polygamy.  But  human  propensities  are  not  always 
easily  controlled,  even  under  the  severe  restraints  of 
law,  and  the  privileged  Saints  were  soon  found  poach- 
ing on  each  other's  warrens.  Every  one  whose  incli- 
nations led  him  in  that  direction  had  the  necessary  im- 
pressions and  visions,  and  they  very  soon  began  to 
stand  sadly  in  each  other's  way.  A  man  could  have 
half  a  dozen  spiritual  wives,  but  it  was  found  incon- 
venient to  allow  a  woman  to  have  the  same  number 
of  spiritual  husbands.  Collisions  growing  out  of  this 
kind  of  license  became  bitter  animosities  ;•  and,  accord- 
ingly, we  find  them  at  this  period  accusing  one  anoth- 
er of  the  most  scandalous  practices. 

Joseph  was  compelled  to  change  his  tack.  In  order 
to  purge  the  Church,  in  public  estimation,  from  scan- 
dals, becoming  of  too  widespread  notoriety,  he  cut  off 
and  gave  over  to  the  bufferings  of  Satan,  under  the 
charge  of  seduction  and  adultery,  various  scapegoats 
who  had  been  encouraged  to  preach  the  spiritual  wife 
doctrine,  and  a  regular  system  of  denial  that  any  such 
practices  existed  was  adopted.  This,  however,  was 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


dangerous  business.  Among  others,  one  Francis  M. 
Higbee  entered  with  zest  into  spiritual  wife-ism,  and, 
as  he  proved  somewhat  intractable,  was  cut  off  from 
the  Church.  Higbee,  in  revenge,  prosecuted  Joseph 
Smith,  Sen.,  for  slander,  and  had  him  arrested  under  a 
capias.  The  defendant  sued  out  a  habeas  corpus  (May 
6th,  1844)  before  the  Municipal  Court  of  Nauvoo,  and, 
in  support  of  this  proceeding,  the  prophet  and  others 
were  sworn  as  witnesses,  disclosing  an  inconceivably 
corrupt  state  of  morals  in  that  city,  in  which  the  names 
of  R.  D.  Foster,  John  C.  Bennett,  and  others  appear  as 
active  agents.  The  deposition  of  one  Eaton  throws 
some  light  on  the  spiritual  wife  machinery  : 

"  Soon  after  I  went  in,  the  said  Higbee  commenced 
talking  about  the  spiritual  wife  system.  He  said  he 
had  no  doubt  but  some  of  the  elders  had  ten  or  twelve 
apiece.  He  said  they  married  them,  whether  the  fe- 
males were  willing  or  not  ;  and  they  did  it  by  record- 
ing the  marriage  in  a  large  book,  which  book  was 
sealed  up  after  the  record  was  made,  and  was  not  to 
be  opened  for  a  long  time,  probably  not  until  many  of 
the  husbands  of  those  who  were  .thus  married  were 
dead.  They  would  then  open  the  book  and  break  the 
seals  in  the  presence  'of  those  females,  and  when  they 
saw  their  names  recorded  in  that  book,  they  would 
believe  that  the  doctrine  was  true,  and  they  must  sub- 
mit. He  said  this  book  was  kept  at  Mr.  Hyrum 
Smith's." 

The  patriarch  Smith  was  of  course  liberated  ;  but 
the  trouble  did  not  end  here.  The  Mormon  chief  was 
in  the  unfortunate  predicament  of  the  conjuror  who  is 
unable  to  get  rid  of  the  fiend  raised  by  his  own  incan- 


120  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

tations.  The  trial  of  the  Higbee  matter  disclosed  some 
attempts  on  the  part  of  the  prophet  to  seduce  the  wife 
of  Doctor  Foster.  The  latter  believed,  or  professed  to 
believe,  this  and  other  scandalous  stories  in  relation  to 
his  late  spiritual  chief,  and,  in  connection  with  one 
Law,  established  a  paper  called  the  Expositor  in  Nau- 
voo,  in  which  he  published  a  batch  of  affidavits  tending 
to  prove  the  truth  of  these  stories.  Joseph  was  too  ab- 
solute in  his  own  dominions  quietly  to  submit  to  so  gross 
an  insult.  As  mayor  of  Nauvoo,  he  assembled  the  city 
authorities,  and  caused  this  audacious  press  to  be  pro- 
nounced a  nuisance,  and  ordered  to  be  abated ;  and,  in 
obedience  to  the  mandate,  the  marshal,  with  a  posse, 
leveled  the  establishment  to  the  ground.  Foster  and 
his  coadjutors  fled,  and,  in  revenge  for  these  summary 
injuries,  procured  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Joseph 
and  Hyrum  Smith  and  some  others.  The  prophet  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  this  Gentile  doc- 
ument, and  the  officer  who  had  it  in  charge  was  un- 
ceremoniously expelled  from  the  city.  The  militia  of 
the  county  were  thereupon  ordered  out  to  support  the 
officer  in  the  execution  of  his  process,  and  the  Mor- 
mons in  Nauvoo  and  its  vicinity  prepared  to  defend  the 
prophet.  The  excitement  rapidly  spread,  the  militia 
of  the  adjacent  counties  were  ordered  out,  the  Govern- 
or repaired  to  the  scene  of  disturbance,  and,  as  in  Mis- 
souri, there  was  every  prospect  of  civil  war. 

Here  again  was  a  collision  between  Mormonism  and 
the  laws  of  the  land ;  one  or  the  other  must  yield. 

In  this  emergency,  on  the  21st  of  June,  1844,  the 
Governor  proposed  to  the  Smiths  that  they  should  sur- 
render themselves  as  prisoners  under  the  warrant,  upon 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


his  pledge  for  their  safety  from  personal  violence  ;  and, 
to  satisfy  the  people  that  the  Mormons  were  peacea- 
bly disposed,  he  further  proposed  that  the  Nauvoo  Le- 
gion should  surrender  its  arms,  and  be  placed  under 
the  command  of  a  Gentile  officer.  After  an  anxious 
consultation,  the  prophet  concluded  to  comply  with 
these  terms,  and  on  the  24th,  with  his  brother  Hyrum, 
started  for  Carthage,  the  capital  of  Hancock  county. 
On  their  way  they  were  met  by  Captain  Dunn,  with  a 
company  of  sixty  men,  having  an  order  for  the  sur- 
render of  the  state  arms  at  Nauvoo.  After  a  parley, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  prophet  should  return  to  the 
city  to  see  the  order  executed,  and  then  repair  to  Car- 
thage under  the  protection  of  Captain  Dunn's  company. 
This  was  done.  On  the  evening  of  the  24th,  Captain 
Dunn  arrived  at  Carthage  with  his  prisoners  ;  on  the 
25th  they  surrendered  themselves  to  the  constable,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  were  arrested  on  a  charge  of  treason. 
In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  they  were  brought 
before  the  magistrate  for  examination  ;  but  the  popular 
excitement  had  become  fearfully  intense,  and  the  pris- 
oners, under  the  advice  of  their  counsel,  gave  bail  for 
their  appearance  at  the  ensuing  Oyer  and  Terminer  to 
answer  for  the  riot.  When  this  part  of  the  business 
was  completed,  it  was  late,  and  the  justice  adjourned 
his  court,  nothing  being  said  about  the  more  serious  of- 
fense. Upon  this  the  constable  produced  a  mittimus 
on  the  charge  of  treason,  and  lodged  his  prisoners  in 
jail,  they  protesting,  and  claiming  that  the  examina- 
tion for  that  charge  should  go  on  immediately.  A 
guard  was  placed  about  the  jail  by  the  Governor  for 
their  protection,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  he 

F 


122  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

visited  them,  and  "  again  pledged  himself  for  their  per- 
sonal safety,  and  said  if  the  troops  went  to  Nauvoo,  as 
was  then  contemplated,  they  should  go  along  to  insure 
their  protection."  The  examination  of  the  prisoners 
was  postponed,  first  to  the  27th,  which  was  subse- 
quently changed  to  the  29th. 

The  Governor,  instead  of  marching  the  troops  to 
Nauvoo  on  the  27th,  changed  his  mind  on  ascertaining 
that  nothing  less  than  the  destruction  of  that  place 
would  satisfy  a  portion  of  them,  and  disbanded  the 
whole  force  except  three  companies,  two  of  which  were 
reserved  to  guard  the  jail,  and  with  the  other  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  city.  One  of  the  counsel  for  the  pris- 
oners, by  the  name  of  Reid,  states  that  the  Carthage 
Grays,  whose  conduct  had  exhibited  the  most  hostility 
to  the  prisoners,  were  among  the  troops  left  to  guard 
them ;  and  that  only  eight  of  them  were  stationed  at 
the  prison,  the  rest  being  in  camp  about  one  fourth  of 
a  mile  off. 

About  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  27th,  the 
guard  at  the  jail  were  overpowered  by  an  armed  party 
of  some  200  men,  disguised  by  paint,  who  forced  the 
prison,  and  assassinated  the  two  Smiths,  and  despe- 
rately wounded  John  Taylor.  The  following  is  an  ac- 
count of  the  murder,  as  given  by  Willard  Richards, 
who  was  an  inmate  of  the  prison  at  the  time : 

"  TWO  MINUTES  IN  JAIL. 

"  Possibly  the  following  events  occupied  near  three 
minutes,  but  I  think  only  about  two,  and  have  penned 
them  for  the  gratification  of  many  friends. 


UTAH  AND   THE   MORMONS. 


"  Carthage,  June  27th,  1844. 

"  A  shower  of  musket  balls  were  thrown  up  the  stair- 
way against  the  door  of  the  prison  in  the  second  story, 
followed  by  many  rapid  footsteps,  while  G-enerals  Jo- 
seph and  Hyrum  Smith,  Mr.  Taylor,  and  myself,  who 
were  in  the  front  chamber,  closed  the  door  of  our  room 
against  the  entry  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  placed 
ourselves  against  it,  there  being  no  lock  on  the  door, 
and  no  keteh  that  was  useable.  The  door  is  a  com- 
mon panel,  and,  as  soon  as  we  heard  the  feet  at  the 
stairs  head,  a  ball  was  sent  through  the  door,  which 
passed  between  us,  and  showed  that  our  enemies  were 
desperadoes,  and  we  must  change  our  position.  Gen- 
eral Joseph  Smith,  Mr.  Taylor,  and  myself  sprang  back 
to  the  front  part  of  the  room,  and  General  Hyrum 
Smith  retreated  two  thirds  across  the  chamber,  direct- 
ly in  front  of  and  facing  the  door.  A  ball  was  sent 
through  the  door,  which  hit  Hyrum  on  the  side  of  his 
nose,  when  he  fell  backward,  extended  at  length,  with- 
out moving  his  feet.  From  the  holes  in  his  vest  (the 
day  was  warm,  and  no  one  had  their  coats  on  but  my- 
self), pantaloons,  drawers,  and  shirt,  it  appears  evi- 
dent that  a  ball  must  have  been  thrown  from  without, 
through  the  window,  which  entered  his  back  on  the 
right  side,  and,  passing  through,  lodged  against  his 
watch,  which  was  in  his  right  vest-pocket,  completely 
pulverizing  the  crystal  and  face,  tearing  off  the  hands, 
and  mashing  the  whole  body  of  the  watch,  at  the  same 
instant  the  ball  from  the  door  entered  his  nose.  As  he 
struck  the  floor,  he  exclaimed  emphatically,  '  Tm  a 
dead  man  /'  Joseph  looked  toward  him,  and  respond- 
ed, *  Oh  dear !  Brother  Hyrum  /'  and  opening  the  door 


124  UTAH   AND   THE  MORMONS. 

two  or  three  inches  with  his  left  hand,  discharged  one 
barrel  of  a  six-shooter  (pistol)  at  random  in  the  entry, 
from  whence  a  ball  grazed  Hy rum's  breast,  and,  enter- 
ing his  throat,  passed  into  his  head,  while  other  mus- 
kets were  aimed  at  him,  and  some  balls  hit  him.  Jo- 
seph continued  snapping  his  revolver  round  the  casing 
of  the  door  into  the  space  as  before — three  barrels  of 
which  missed  fire — while  Mr.  Taylor,  with  a  walking- 
stick,  stood  by  his  side,  and  knocked  down  the  bayo- 
nets and  muskets  which  were  constantly  discharging 
through  the  doorway,  while  I  stood  by  him,  ready  to 
lend  any  assistance,  with  another  stick,  but  could  not 
come  within  striking  distance  without  going  directly 
before  the  muzzle  of  the  guns.  When  the  revolver 
failed,  we  had  no  more  fire-arms,  and,  expecting  an 
immediate  rush  of  the  mob,  and  the  doorway  full  of 
muskets — half  way  in  the  room,  and  no  hope  but  in- 
stant death  from  within — Mr.  Taylor  rushed  to  the  win- 
dow, which  is  some  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground.  When  his  body  was  nearly  on  a  balance,  a 
ball  from  the  door  within  entered  his  leg,  and  a  ball 
from  without  struck  his  watch,  a  patent  lever,  in  his 
vest  pocket,  near  the  left  breast,  and  smashed  it  in  '  pi,' 
leaving  the  hands  standing  at  5  o'clock,  16  minutes, 
and  26  seconds ;  the  force  of  which  ball  threw  him 
back  on  the  floor,  and  he  rolled  under  the  bed  which 
stood  by  his  side,  where  he  lay  motionless,  the  mob 
from  the  door  continuing  to  fire  upon  him,  cutting 
away  a  piece  of  flesh  from  his  left  hip  as  large  as  a 
man's  hand,  and  were  hindered  only  by  my  knocking 
down  their  muzzles  with  a  stick ;  while  they  contin- 
ued to  reach  their  guns  into  the  room,  probably  left- 


UTAH  AND   THE   MORMONS.  125 

handed,  and  aimed  their  discharge  so  far  around  as  al- 
most to  reach  us  in  the  corner  of  the  room  to  where 
we  retreated  and  dodged,  and  then  I  recommenced  the 
attack  with  my  stick  again.  Joseph  attempted,  as  the 
last  resort,  to  leap  the  same  window  from  whence  Mr. 
Taylor  fell,  when  two  tails  pierced  him  from  the  door, 
and  one  entered  his  right  breast  from  without,  and  he 
fell  outward,  exclaiming,  £  O  Lord  my  God  /'  .  As  his 
feet  went  out  of  the  window  my  head  went  in,  the  balls 
whistling  all  around.  He  fell  on  his  left  side,  a  dead 
man.  At  this  instant  the  cry  was  raised,  '  He's  leap- 
ed the  window  /'  and  the  mob  on  the  stairs  and  in  the 
entry  ran  out.  I  withdrew  from  the  window,  think- 
ing it  of  no  use  to  leap  out  on  a  hundred  bayonets, 
then  around  General  Smith's  body.  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  I  again  reached  my  head  out  of  the  window,  and 
watched  some  seconds  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs 
of  life,  regardless  of  my  own,  determined  to  see  the 
end  of  him  I  loved.  Being  fully  satisfied  that  he  was 
dead — with  a  hundred  men  near  the  body,  and  more 
coming  round  the  corner  of  the  jail-— and  expecting  a 
return  to  our  room,  I  rushed  toward  the  prison  door 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  through  the  entry  from 
whence  the  firing  had  proceeded,  to  learn  if  the  doors 
into  the  prison  were  open.  When  near  the  entry,  Mr. 
Taylor  called  out,  '  Take  me.'  I  pressed  my  way  till 
I  found  all  doors  unbarred ;  returning  instantly,  caught 
Mr.  Taylor  under  my  arm,  and  rushed  by  the  stairs 
into  the  dungeon,  or  inner  prison,  stretched  him  on  the 
floor,  and  covered  him  with  a  bed  in  such  a  manner  as 
not  likely  to  be  perceived,  expecting  an  immediate  re- 
turn of  the  mob.  I  said  to  Mr.  Taylor,  <  This  is  a  hard 


126  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

case  to  lay  you  on  the  floor,  but,  if  your  wounds  are 
not  fatal,  I  want  you  to  live  to  tell  the  story.'  I  ex- 
pected to  be  shot  the  next  moment,  and  stood  before 


the  door  awaiting  the  onset. 

"  WILLARD  RICHARDS." 

This  terrible  murder  produced  the  wildest  fears  that 
the  Mormons  would  rush  in  a  body  from  their  capital 
to  revenge  it,  and  the  citizens  of  Carthage  began  to 
flee,  from  their  houses.  To  prevent  any  such  outbreak, 
a  messenger  was  dispatched  to  Nauvoo  with  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  three  leading  Mormons : 

"TO  MRS.  EMMA  SMITH  AND  MAJ.  GEN.  DUNHAM,  &C.  : 

"  The  Governor  has  just  arrived;  says  all  things 
shall  be  inquired  into,  and  all  right  measures  taken. 

"  I  say  to  all  the  citizens  of  Nauvoo,  my  brethren, 
be  still,  and  know  that  God  reigns.  Don't  rush  out 
of  the  city— don't  rush  to  Carthage ;  stay  at  home, 
and  be  prepared  for  an  attack  from  Missouri  mobbers. 
The  Governor  will  render  every  assistance  possible — 
has  sent  out  orders  for  troops.  Joseph  and  Hyrum  are 
dead,  but  not  by  the  Carthage  people.  The  guards 
were  true,  as  I  believe. 

"  We  will  prepare  to  move  the  bodies  as  soon  as 
possible. 

"  The  people  of  the  county  are  greatly  excited,  and 
fear  the  Mormons  will  come  out  and  take  vengeance. 
I  have  pledged  my  word  the  Mormons  will  stay  at 
home  as  soon  as  they  can  be  informed,  and  no  violence 
will  be  on  their  part ;  and  say  to  my  brethren  in  Nau- 
voo, in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  be  still — be  patient. 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS.  127 

Only  let  such  friends  as  choose  come  here  to  see  the 
bodies.  Mr.  Taylor's  wounds  are  dressed,  and  not  se- 
rious. I  am  sound.  WILLARD  RICHARDS, 

JOHN  TAYLOR, 
SAMUEL  H.  SMITH." 

The  Governor  at  the  same  time,  fearing  some  dem- 
onstration against  the  Mormons,  sent  them  directions 
to  defend  themselves,  if  necessary,  until  protection  could 
be  furnished.  So  brutal  a  murder,  committed  in  the 
face  of  such  solemnly-repeated  pledges  of  safety,  de- 
manded from  the  G-overnor  some  explanation.  All 
that  he  could  probably  give  appears  in  the  following, 
from  a  statement  published  by  him : 

"  I  desire  to  make  a  brief  but  true  statement  of  the 
recent  disgraceful  affair  at  Carthage,  in  regard  to  the 
Smiths,  so  far  as  circumstances  have  come  to  my 
knowledge.  The  Smiths,  Joseph  and  Hyrum,  have 
been  assassinated  in  jail;  by  whom  it  is  not  known, 
but  will  be  ascertained.  I  pledged  myself  for  their 
safety ;  and  upon  the  assurance  of  that  pledge,  they 
surrendered  as  prisoners.  The  Mormons  surrendered 
the  public  arms  in  their  possession,  and  the  Nauvoo 
Legion  submitted  to  the  command  of  Captain  Single- 
ton, of  Brown  county,  deputed  for  that  purpose  by  me. 
All  these  things  were  required  to  satisfy  the  old  citizens 
of  Hancock  that  the  Mormons  were  peaceably  disposed, 
and  to  allay  jealousy  and  excitement  in  their  minds. 
It  appears,  however,  that  the  compliance  of  the  Mor- 
mons with  every  requisition  made  upon  them  failed 
of  that  purpose.  The  pledge  of  security  to  the  Smiths 


128  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

was  not  given  upon  my  individual  responsibility.  Be- 
fore I  gave  it,  I  obtained  a  pledge  of  honor,  by  a  unan- 
imous vote  from  the  officers  and  men  under  my  com- 
mand, to  sustain  me  in  performing  it.  If  the  assas- 
sination of  the  Smiths  was  committed  by  any  portion 
of  these,  they  have  added  treachery  to  murder,  and 
have  done  all  they  could  to  disgrace  the  state  and  sully 
the  public  honor. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  day  the  deed  was  committed, 
we  had  proposed  to  march  the  army  under  my  com- 
mand into  Nauvoo.  I  had,  however,  discovered,  on 
the  evening  before,  that  nothing  but  utter  destruction 
of  the  city  would  satisfy  a  portion  of  the  troops ;  and 
that,  if  we  marched  into  the  city,  pretexts  would  not 
be  wanting  for  commencing  hostilities.  The  Mormons 
had  done  every  thing  required,  or  which  ought  to  have 
been  required  of  them.  Offensive  operations  on  our 
part  would  have  been  as  unjust  and  disgraceful,  as 
they  would  have  been  impolitic,  in  the  present  critical 
season  of  the  year,  the  harvest  and  the  crops.  For 
these  reasons,  I  decided  in  a  council  of  officers  to  dis- 
band the  army,  except  three  companies,  two  of  which 
were  reserved  as  a  guard  for  the  jail.  With  the  other 
company  I  marched  into  Nauvoo,  to  address  the  in- 
habitants there,  and  tell  them  what  they  might  expect 
in  case  they  designedly  or  imprudently  provoked  a  war. 
I  performed  this  duty,  as  I  think,  plainly  and  emphat- 
ically, and  then  set  out  to  return  to  Carthage.  "When 
I  had  marched  about  three  miles,  a  messenger  inform- 
ed me  of  the  occurrences  at  Carthage.  I  hastened  on 
to  that  place.  The  guard,  it  is  said,  did  their  duty, 
but  were  overpowered." 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


Fortunately,  owing  to  the  precautions  taken,  no  fur- 
ther disturbances  took  place  connected  with  the  arrest 
and  assassination  of  the  Smiths.  Their  bodies  were 
removed  to  Nauvoo,  and  buried  amid  solemn  and  im- 
posing ceremonies  ;  and  the  grave  which  closed  over 
them,  under  such  appalling  circumstances,  has  effectu- 
ally concealed  from  the  Mormon's  vision  the  faults  and 
vices  of  his  prophet.  In  his  estimation  Joseph  died  a 
martyr's  death,  and  sealed  the  truth  of  his  great  pre- 
tensions by  his  blood. 

"He  was,"  says  the  Times  and  Seasons,  p.  584, 
"  one  of  the  best  men  that  ever  lived  on  the  earth.  The 
work  he  has  thus  far  performed  toward  establishing 
pure  religion  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  great  gath- 
ering of  Israel,  in  the  short  space  of  twenty  years  since 
the  time  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  made  known  his 
mission,  and  gave  him  power  to  move  the  cause  of 
Zion,  exceeds  any  thing  of  the  kind  on  record.  "With- 
out learning,  without  means,  and  without  experience, 
he  has  met  a  learned  world,  a  rich  century,  a  hard- 
hearted, wicked,  and  adulterous  generation,  with  truth 
that  could  not  be  resisted,  facts  that  could  not  be  dis- 
proved, revelations  whose  spirit  had  so  much  Grod  in 
them  that  the  servants  of  the  Lord  could  not  be  gain- 
say ed  or  resisted,  but,  like  the  rays  of  light  from  the 
sun,  they  have  tinged  every  thing  they  lit  upon  with 
a  lustre  and  livery  which  has  animated,  quickened, 
and  adorned. 

"  The  pages  of  General  Smith's  history,  though  his 
enemies  never  ceased  to  persecute  him  and  hunt  for 
offenses  against  him,  are  as  unsullied  as  virgin  snow. 
On  about  fifty  prosecutions  for  supposed  criminal  of- 

F2 


130  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

fenses,  he  came  out  of  the  legal  fire,  heated,  like  Neb- 
uchadnezzar's furnace,  seven  times  hotter  than  it  was 
wont  to  be,  without  the  smell  of  fire,  or  a  thread  of 
his  garments  scorched.  His  foes  of  the  world  and  en- 
emies of  his  own  household,  who  have  sought  occa- 
sions against  him,  in  order  secretly  to  deprive  him  of 
his  life,  because  his  goodness,  greatness,  and  glory  ex- 
ceeded theirs,  have  a  poor  excuse  to  offer  the  world  for 
shedding  his  innocent  blood,  and  no  apology  to  make 
to  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  at  the  day  of  judgment. 
They  have  murdered  him  because  they  feared  his  right- 
eousness." 

It  is  the  duty,  however,  of  impartial  truth  to  strip 
this  singular  being  of  his  bloody  cerements,  and  view 
him  as  he  was.  That  he  possessed  some  extraordinary 
traits  of  character,  would  seem  to  be  established  by  the 
degree  of  success  attending  the  strange  hierarchy  orig- 
inated by  him.  In  1827,  he  announced  the  discovery 
of  the  Golden  Book,  when  only  twenty -two  years  of 
age  ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1844,  his  followers 
must  have  numbered  over  one  hundred  thousand.  To 
operate  on  so  many  minds,  even  though  upon  a  low 
plane  and  easily  affected  by  the  marvelous,  bring  them 
under  a  distinct  organization,  and  sway  them  at  will, 
in  the  very  midst  of  hostile  influences,  prove  that  he 
had  some  mental  powers,  which  we  are  compelled  to 
respect,  however  much  we  may  condemn  the  motives 
by  which  he  was  influenced. 

The  remarkable  tenacity  of  purpose  which  he  exhib- 
ited under  discouraging  circumstances,  and  the  appar- 
ent sincerity  of  his  professions,  have  been  suggested  as 
evidence  that  he  was  really  a  religious  enthusiast,  who 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


became  the  victim  of  his  own  delusions.  But  it  must 
be  recollected  that  he  had  every  thing  to  lose,  and  but 
little  to  gain,  by  an  abandonment  of  his  imposture. 
His  character  had  become  bad  in  public  estimation  ; 
and  he  could  go  back  into  society,  and  settle  down  into 
some  useful  employment,  no  easier  than  the  state's 
prison  convict,  whom  every  one  shuns  as  he  would  a 
pestilence.  He  had  fixed  the  mark  of  Cain  upon  his 
own  forehead,  and  could  have  no  future  fellowship  with 
his  kind,  except  as  an  impostor.  This  is  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  desperation  of  his  efforts—  it  was  with 
him  a  struggle  of  life  and  death.  Such,  in  fact,  is  the 
history  of  all  grades  of  cheats  and  impostors.  "What  is 
the  career  of  the  counterfeiter  but  one  of  peril  and 
punishment  —  a  series  of  narrow  escapes  and  durance  ? 
Look  at  him  through  life  :  he  suffers  every  thing  ;  runs 
the  gauntlet  of  human  contumely  and  prisons  ;  and 
yet  with  what  tenacity  will  he  adhere  to  his  hazard- 
ous employment.  No  one  ever  thought,  however,  of 
suggesting  that  such  men  really  believed  they  were 
performing  good  uses  to  society.  Why  should  the  re- 
ligious impostor  be  judged  by  any  other  rule  ?  Wheth- 
er he  practices  upon  the  credulity  of  mankind  as  a  pre- 
tended prophet,  or  robs  them  by  debasing  the  curren- 
cy, makes  no  great  practical  difference,  except  that  the 
former  causes  the  greater  mischief.  Both  have  a  sim- 
ilar object  in  view  ;  they  only  pursue  different  roads  to 
the  same  destination,  and  are  to  be  judged  by  the  same 
standard  of  right. 

He  was  no  religious  enthusiast  who  began  in  fraud 
and  ended  in  sincerity.  He  lacked  every  element  of 
the  character.  Self-convicted  enthusiasts  have  been 


132  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

ascetics,  subjecting  themselves  to  lonely  vigils,  self- 
torture,  and  rigid  mortifications  of  the  flesh.  The  Mor- 
mon prophet,  however,  inculcated  and  practiced  self- 
indulgence.  His  epicurean  traits  marked  his  whole 
career.  He  was  the  jolly  landlord — the  bon-vivant 
boon  companion — the  fair-weather  militia  general,  car- 
acoling in  gay  plumage  at  the  head  of  his  staff  on  the 
parade-ground — the  man  of  many  wives  or  concubines 
— the  heated  partisan,  entering  the  lists  for  office,  and 
belaboring  his  antagonists  in  the  style  of  the  bar-room 
politician.  What  room  was  there  in  the  mind  of  such 
a  man  for  sincere  enthusiasm  ? 

He  possessed  a  mind  extremely  fertile  in  taking  ad- 
vantage of  circumstances  as  they  occur.  In  a  com- 
munity imbued  with  popular  superstitions  and  enthu- 
siastic fancies,  it  is  not  a  hard  task  to  explain  away 
or  soften  down  apparent  inconsistencies  or  untowrard 
events.  He  was,  however,  an  adept  at  this  business ; 
and  not  only  always  ready  with  a  plausible  reason  for 
the  non-fulfillment  of  a  prophecy  or  failure  of  a  miracle, 
but  wonderfully  skillful  in  turning  them  to  account. 
To  great  cunning  he  added  apparent  enthusiasm  ;  and 
as  he  dealt  with  the  weakness  instead  of  the  strength 
of  human  nature,  his  success  more  than  realized  his 
anticipations. 

Joseph  Smith  possessed  great  popularity  of  manners, 
and  extraordinary  powers  of  impressing  the  popular 
credulity  with  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  his  pretensions. 
In  those  lay  the  principal  secret  of  his  success.  Not- 
withstanding his  numerous  vices — which,  indeed,  may 
be  said  to  form  the  subsoil  from  which  all  his  mental 
fertility  received  its  nourishment — his  name  is  vene- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  133 

rated,  and  his  words  are  law,  among  his  followers. 
An  incident,  illustrative  of  his  popularity,  is  related  of 
him  while  at  Nauvoo.  Passing  along  the  streets,  he 
found  a  number  of  men  engaged  at  pitching  quoits. 
He  pulled  off  his  coat,  and  entered  with  zest  into  the 
amusement.  After  the  game  was  finished,  he  said, 
"  Come,  boys,  we've  had  our  fun,  now  let  us  go  and 

cut  a  load  of  wood  for  Widow  B ."     No  quicker 

said  than  done — the  wood-pile  was  soon  ready  for  the 
stove. 

He  did  not  possess  a  high  order  of  talent.  He  lack- 
ed in  sagacity  and  comprehensiveness — traits  not  com- 
monly found  united  with  sensuality  and  cunning  such 
as  his.  He  could  raise  the  whirlwind,  but  could  not 
direct  the  storm.  A  better  balanced  mind  would  have 
avoided  the  troubles  at  Independence  and  at  Nauvoo ; 
perhaps,  too,  a  better  balanced  mind  would  not  have 
engaged  at  all  in  the  business  of  imposture.  His  cun- 
ning, indeed,  was  on  a  low  plane  ;  it  fell  far  below  sa- 
gacity, and  could  only  operate  on  the  weakest  points 
of  humanity.  This  furnishes  some  explanation  of  the 
extraordinary  degree  of  credulity  and  patient  submis- 
sion manifested  by  the  mass  of  his  followers.  They 
were  the  only  materials  with  which  he  could  work— 
the  only  minds  on  which  he  could  impose.  This  was 
the  extent  of  his  reach,  and  he  could  no  more  go  be- 
yond it  than  the  common  blacksmith  could  fashion  a 
Yenus  de  Medici  or  Greek  Slave.  His  capacity  was 
not  even  equal  to  cementing  together,  in  regular  form, 
the  materials  which  he  collected  together ;  and  the 
imposture  would  speedily  have  become  a  bygone  event, 
had  he  not  been  aided  by  men  of  more  sagacity,  though 


134  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

quite  as  little  troubled  with  conscientious  misgivings 
as  himself. 

Joseph  Smith  was  no  martyr.  There  was,  in  his 
case,  no  passive  and  resigned  submission  to  the  bigotry 
of  the  religious  persecutor,  which  has  ever  distinguish- 
ed the  martyr  suffering  in  defense  of  his  faith.  If  a 
martyr,  he  must  have  been  the  first  who  died  with 
arms  in  his  hands,  fighting  with  his  foes.  His  death 
was  not  at  the  hands  of  Grentile  persecutors,  but  at 
those  of  his  own  quondam  followers — the  Higbees,  the 
Fosters,  the  Laws,  and  others — in  revenge  for  the  nu- 
merous wrongs  which  they  charged  to  his  account. 
The  husband  whose  wife  had  been  dishonored — the 
brother  whose  sister  had  been  seduced — the  farmer 
whose  horse  had  been  stolen,  or  building  burned — re- 
venged themselves  upon  the  prophet's  head,  in  that 
hour  of  retribution,  for  the  injuries  which  they  believed 
had  been  inflicted  upon  them  through  his  agency.  His 
death,  nevertheless,  was  a  political  mistake,  and  ought 
to  have  been  prevented,  without  reference  to  pledges 
given  for  his  safety.  He  ought,  in  the  regular  admin- 
istration of  justice,  to  have  found  his  way  to  the  peni- 
tentiary. Joseph,  in  the  dress  of  a  convict,  making 
shoes  or  cutting  stone,  in  the  service  of  the  state,  would 
have  been  stripped  of  the  lion's  hide,  and  his  followers, 
in  gazing  at  the  disgraced  impostor  through  the  bars 
of  a  prison,  would  have  become  disgusted  with  the 
idol  of  their  worship. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  135 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Excitement  at  Nauvoo. — Struggle  for  the  Succession. — Rigdon  ex- 
communicated.— Brigham  Young  elected. — Further  Troubles  with 
the  Gentiles. — The  Saints  resolve  to  quit  the  United  States. — Ar- 
rangements for  that  Purpose.  —  Nauvoo  besieged,  and  Mormons 
driven  out. — Character  of  Mormon  Community,  and  alleged  Perse- 
cutions. 

THE  news  of  the  violent  death  of  the  prophet  pro- 
duced the  wildest  state  of  grief,  apprehension,  and  in- 
dignation among  the  Saints  at  Nauvoo.  Some  were 
exasperated,  others  terror-stricken,  and  there  was  im- 
minent danger  of  total  disorganization.  The  members 
of  the  "  Nauvoo  Legion"  were  for  avenging  the  out- 
rage by  the  strong  hand,  which,  had  it  been  attempt- 
ed in  the  then  excited  state  of  the  public  mind,  would 
have  led  to  their  entire  destruction.  The  Mormon 
leaders — of  whom  one  of  the  most  influential  was  Brig- 
ham  Young,  president  of  the  twelve  apostles — exerted 
themselves  successfully  to  quiet  the  exasperation  of 
some  and  the  feal's  of  others.  Under  their  advice  and 
management,  the  wise  resolution  was  adopted  to  re- 
main peaceable,  and  trust  to  the  laws  for  redress.  The 
effect  of  this  movement  was-  immediate.  Not  only 
Were  the  Saints  in  Illinois  brought  into  a  state  of  or- 
der and  quiet,  but  two  addresses  sent  forth  to  those 
abroad,  one  of  which  was  signed  by  Brigham  Young, 
as  president  of  the  twelve,  dated  August  15th,  1844, 


136  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

and  both  of  which  manifested  much  tact  and  ability, 
and  were  well  calculated  to  produce  the  intended  effect. 

Order  being  restored,  the  next  step  was  to  provide 
a  head  for  the  decapitated  Church.  Young  was,  of 
course,  a  prominent  candidate  ;  but  the  ambitious  spir- 
it of  Sidney  Rigdon  was  now  aroused  into  activity  to 
reach  that  position  in  the  hierarchy  to  which  he  be- 
lieved himself  entitled,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that 
the  succession  was  to  be  contested.  In  this  game 
Brigham  proved  himself  the  better  politician.  A  meet- 
ing of  the  Saints  was  held,  in  which  it  was  determined, 
for  the  present,  that  the  twelve  "  held  the  keys  of  the 
priesthood,  and  the  authority  to  set  in  order  and  regu- 
late the  Church  in  all  the  world."  This,  in  effect, 
gave  Young  the  control  of  the  Church  organization,  an 
important  advantage  in  all  political  maneuvers. 

Sidney,  in  the  mean  time,  made  a  bold  push  for  the 
vacant  seat.  He  got  up  a  revelation,  constituting  him- 
self the  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  of  the  Church,  and 
giving  much  new  light  in  regard  to  its  future  organi- 
zation and  government,  under  which  he  proceeded  to 
ordain  "  men  to  be  prophets,  priests,  and  kings."  But 
he  miscalculated  his  power.  He  was  immediately 
brought  to  trial ;  and  although  Joseph  had  pronounced 
upon  his  head  one  of  the  choicest  of  his  prophetic  bless- 
ings, yet  a  new  light  now  broke  into  the  minds  of  his 
judges  ;  his  revelations  were  pronounced  to  be  "from 
the  devil ;"  his  name  was  loaded  with  vituperative  ep- 
ithets ;  and,  finally,  he  was  cut  off  from  the  Church, 
and  "  delivered  over  to  the  buffe tings  of  Satan  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  people  said  Amen." 

Sidney  Rigdon  being  thus  fairly  out  of  the  way, 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


Brigham  Young  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Church,  without  further  opposition,  on  the  7th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1844  ;  and,  under  his  vigorous  management,  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  Mormons  settled  down  into  a 
state  of  comparative  quiet.  The  Saints  were  urged  to 
furnish  the  necessary  means  for  the  completion  of  the 
Temple  ;  the  work  rapidly  progressed,  and  there  seem- 
ed to  he  a  prospect  of  returning  prosperity.  Says  the 
Times  and  Seasons  of  December  15th,  1844  :  "  The 
Temple  has  progressed  with  greater  rapidity  since  the 
death  of  Joseph  Smith  than  ever  it  has  done  before, 
and  things  in  this  city  never  looked  more  prosperous." 

Nauvoo,  at  this  period,  contained  a  population  of 
14,000,  nine  tenths  of  whom  were  Mormons  (  Times 
and  Seasons  ',  p.  759).  The  following  is  a  description 
of  the  Temple,  from  the  same  paper  : 

"  The  Temple  is  erected  from  white  limestone, 
wrought  in  a  superior  style  ;  is  128  by  88  feet  square  ; 
near  60  feet  high  ;  two  stories  in  the  clear,  and  two 
half  stories  in  the  recesses  over  the  arches  ;  four  tiers 
of  windows  —  two  Gothic,  and  two  round.  The  two 
great  stories  will  each  have  two  pulpits,  one  at  each 
end,  to  accommodate  the  Melchisedek  and  Aaronic 
priesthoods,  graded  into  four  rising  seats  :  the  first  for 
the  president  of  the  elders  and  his  two  counselors  ; 
the  second  for  the  president  of  the  high  priesthood  and 
his  two  counselors  ;  the  third  for  the  Melchisedek  pres- 
ident and  his  two  counselors  ;  and  the  fourth  for  the 
president  over  the  whole  Church  (the  first  president) 
and  his  two  counselors.  This  highest  seat  is  where 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees  used  to  crowd  in  '  to  Moses' 
seat.'  The  Aaronic  pulpit  at  the  other  end  the  same. 


138 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


AT   NAUVOO. 


"  The  fount  in  the  basement  story  is  for  the  baptism 
of  the  living,  for  health,  for  remission  of  sin,  and  for 
the  salvation  of  the  dead,  as  was  the  case  in  Solomon's 
Temple,  and  all  temples  that  God  commands  to  be 
built.  You  know  I  am  no  Gentile,  and,  of  course,  do 
not  believe  that  a  monastery,  cathedral,  chapel,  or 
meeting-house  erected  by  the  notions  and  calculations 
of  men,  has  any  more  sanction  from  God  than  any 
common  house  in  Babylon. 

"  The  steeple  of  our  Temple  will  be  high  enough  to 
answer  for  a  tower — between  100  and  200  feet  high. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


But  I  have  said  enough  about  the  Temple  ;  when  fin- 
ished, it  will  show  more  wealth,  more  art,  more  sci- 
ence, more  revelation,  more  splendor,  and  more  Grod, 
than  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  that  will  make  it  a 
Mormon  temple—4  God  and  liberty'  —  patterned  some- 
what after  the  order  of  our  forefathers,  which  were  af- 
ter the  order  of  eternity." 

But,  though  the  Saints  could  be  brought  into  a  state 
of  comparative  quiet  in  obedience  to  the  advice  of  their 
rulers,  yet  it  was  quite  another  thing  to  control  the 
popular  feeling  in  Illinois.  After  the  death  of  the 
prophet,  there  was  a  short  calm,  but  it  was  only  a  lull 
in  the  tempest.  It  was  extensively  believed  that  the 
Mormons  had  not  only  resisted  the  regular  administra- 
tion of  the  laws,  but  that  they  had  made  their  capital 
city  a  vast  depository  for  stolen  goods,  and  that  within 
its  walls  they  were  guilty  of  almost  every  conceivable 
outrage  upon  the  institutions  and  decencies  of  civilized 
life. 

The  Mormons  endeavored  to  purge  themselves  from 
these  charges  by  holding  meetings,  and  passing  pre- 
ambles and  resolutions,  avowing  their  innocence,  and 
expressing  their  determination  to  enforce  the  laws. 
These  measures,  however,  only  produced  a  temporary 
cessation  of  hostilities,  and  were  succeeded  by  mobs, 
riots,  and  other  scenes  of  violence,  more  or  less  public 
or  private,  until  it  became  quite  manifest  that  Saint 
and  Gentile  could  not  live  much  longer  in  peaceable 
contiguity.  Matters  were  approaching  a  crisis.  A  con- 
vention of  delegates  from  the  surrounding  counties  was 
held,  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  expel  the  Mormons 
from  the  state  —  peaceably,  if  they  could  ;  forcibly,  if 


140  UTAH    AND   THE   MORMONS. 

they  must ;  and  it  became  the  all-absorbing  question 
with  the  presidency  of  the  Church,  whether  to  oppose 
the  popular  fury,  temporize  until  it  should  abate,  or 
yield  to  circumstances  and  quit  the  state.  Young  had 
sagacity  enough  to  see  that  the  constitution  of  the 
Church  over  which  he  presided  was  such  that  it  could 
never  peaceably  sustain  itself  in  the  States,  and  that  it 
would  be  in  vain  to  indulge  the  Mohammedan  dream 
of  conquest  which  once  floated  through  the  brain  of 
the  prophet  Joseph.  He  accordingly  made  diligent 
efforts  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the  Saints  for  removal 
beyond  the  bounds  and  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States. 

This  was  no  difficult  task.  The  Mormons  had  be- 
come in  some  degree  a  nomadic  race  ;  they  had  broken 
the  ties  of  kindred  and  home  to  gather  around  their 
fancied  Zion ;  many  of  them  had  left  one  part  of  Mis- 
souri for  another,  and  then  had  removed  to  Nauvoo ; 
some  had  wandered  from  beyond  the  broad  Atlantic, 
and  could  not,  within  a  few  years,  form  very  strong 
local  attachments.  Superadded  to  all  this  was  an  in- 
tense hatred  to  the  United  States,  some  of  whose  citi- 
zens had  inflicted  upon  them  the  sufferings,  losses,  and 
persecutions  of  which  they  complained,  and  whose  gov- 
ernment had  failed  to  afford  them  redress.  So  intense 
was  this  feeling,  that  they  looked  exultingly  forward 
to  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  which  remorselessly  con- 
signed the  country  to  one  vast  and  common  ruin,  under 
the  visitations  of  earthquakes,  fires,  famine,  pestilence, 
and  civil  wars,  from  the  offended  majesty  of  heaven. 
There  was  only  one  tie  difficult  to  be  severed — the 
Temple.  It  was  a  proud  monument  of  architectural 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


grandeur  and  beauty,  reared,  beautified,  and  finally 
completed  by  the  toil  and  contributions  of  all  the  Saints, 
in  which  all  had  a  property—  in  which  all  were  to  pay 
their  devotions,  baptize  for  their  dead,  and  perform  the 
secret  ceremonies  by  which  they  are  initiated  into  the 
different  degrees  and  orders  of  their  faith.  But  the 
mass  were,  notwithstanding,  ready  to  go,  at  the  advice 
or  dictation  of  their  rulers.  A  conference  was  held  in 
the  Temple  on  the  6th  of  October,  at  which  the  matter 
was  debated  and  resolved  upon,  and  an  epistle  was  put 
forth  by  Brigham  Young  to  the  Saints  throughout  the 
United  States,  announcing  the  determination  to  remove 
as  early  as  the  next  spring  ;  and  they  were  urged  to 
come  forward  and  finish  the  Temple,  and  receive  their 
endowments,  before  bidding  a  farewell  to  their  beloved 
city.  The  place  of  destination  at  first  contemplated 
was  Vancouver's  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia. 

Among  the  curious  things  to  be  noted  at  this  period 
was  the  excommunication  from  the  Church  of  William 
Smith,  the  sole  surviving  brother  of  the  prophet.  This 
man,  it  seems,  was  ambitious  of  the  succession,  and, 
in  the  bitterness  of  his  disappointment,  had  let  out 
some  unwholesome  secrets  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of 
the  twelve  apostles,  for  which  they  consigned  him  over 
to  the  "  buffetings  of  Satan  ;"  and  the  language  of 
the  prophet  Joseph,  while  pronouncing  a  blessing  upon 
his  brother,  contrasts  strangely  enough  with  the  de- 
nunciations subsequently  showered  upon  the  same  sub- 
ject. He  became,  in  Mormon  phraseology,  an  apostate, 
and  spoke  in  utter  condemnation  of  the  designs  of  the 
leaders,  representing  "  that  it  is  their  design  to  set  up 


142  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

an  independent  government  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  near  California ; 
that  the  plan  has  f been  maturing  for  a  long  time ;  and 
that,  in  fact,  with  hate  in  their  hearts,  skillfully  kept 
up  by  the  Mormon  leaders,  whose  pockets  are  to  be 
enriched  by  their  toil,  the  mass  of  the  Mormons  will 
be  alike  purged  of  American  feelings,  and  shut  out  by 
a  barrier  of  mountains  and  Church  restrictions  from 
any  other  than  Mormon  freedom." 

In  January,  1846,  the  plan  for  removal  became  more 
fully  developed,  as  appears  by  a  circular  of  the  High 
Council  of  the  20th  of  that  month,  in  which  they  say : 

"We,  the  members  of  the  High  Council  of  the 
Church,  by  the  voice  of  all  her  authorities,  have  united- 
ly and  unanimously  agreed,  and  embrace  this  oppor- 
tunity to  inform  you  that  we  intend  to  send  out  into 
the  Western  country  from  this  place,  some  time  in  the 
early  part  of  the  month  of  March,  a  company  of  pio- 
neers, consisting  mostly  of  young,  hardy  men,  with 
some  families.  These  are  destined  to  be  furnished  with 
an  ample  outfit,  taking  with  them  a  printing-press, 
farming  utensils  of  all  kinds,  with  mill-irons  and  bolt- 
ing-cloths, seeds  of  all  kinds,  grain,  &c. 

"  The  object  of  this  early  move  is  to  put  in  a  spring 
crop,  to  build  houses,  and  to  prepare  for  the  reception 
of  families,  who  will  start  so  soon  as  grass  shall  be 
sufficiently  grown  to  sustain  teams  and  stock.  Our 
pioneers  are  instructed  to  proceed  west  until  they  find 
a  good  place  to  make  a  crop,  in  some  good  valley  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  they 
will  infringe  upon  no  one,  and  be  not  likely  to  be  in- 
fringed upon.  Here  we  will  make  a  resting-place 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


until  we  can  determine  a  place  for  a  permanent  loca- 
tion. In  the  event  of  the  President's  recommendation 
to  build  block-houses  and  stockade  forts  on  the  route 
to  Oregon  becoming  a  law,  we  have  encouragements 
of  having  that  work  to  do  ;  and,  under  our  peculiar 
circumstances,  we  can  do  it  with  less  expense  to  the 
government  than  any  other  people." 

In  the  same  paper  they  make  strong  professions  of 
loyalty  to  the  government,  notwithstanding  the  various 
injuries  they  had  sustained,  and  deny  that  they  have 
been  guilty  of  the  crimes  laid  to  their  charge.  In  ref- 
erence to  their  property  to  be  left  behind,  they  say, 
"  Much  of  our  property  will  be  left  in  the  hands  of 
competent  agents  for  sale  at  a  low  rate,  for  teams,  for 
goods,  and  for  cash.  The  funds  arising  from  the  sale 
of  property  will  be  applied  to  the  removal  of  families 
from  time  to  time,  as  fast  as  consistent;  and  it  now 
remains  to  be  proven  whether  those  of  our  families  and 
friends  who  are  necessarily  left  behind  for  a  season,  to 
obtain  an  outfit  through  the  sale  of  property,  shall  be 
mobbed,  burned,  and  driven  away  by  force." 

In  reference  to  the  conditions  upon  which  they  agreed 
to  leave,  they  say,  "  We  agreed  to  leave  the  county  for 
the  sake  of  peace,  upon  the  condition  that  no  more 
vexatious  prosecutions  be  instituted  against  us.  In 
good  faith  we  have  labored  to  fulfill  this  engagement. 
Governor  Ford  has  also  done  his  duty  to  further  our 
wishes  in  this  respect.  But  there  are  some  who  are 
unwilling  that  we  should  have  any  existence  any 
where." 

Brigham  Young  manifested  much  ability  and  fore- 
cast in  the  arrangements  to  remove  a  population  of 


144 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


some  15,000  souls  to  a  new  home  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  Saints  were  divided  into  different 
companies,  which  were  to  emigrate  at  different  times, 
so  as  not  to  be  in  each  other's  way.  Places  were  se- 
lected in  the  Indian  country,  among  the  Omahas  and 
Potawatomies,  where  different  sections  could  make 
temporary  settlements,  as  resting  and  recruiting  points, 
until  their  final  removal  could  be  practicable.  Espe- 
cial pains  were  taken  to  conciliate  the  Indians  on  the 
entire  route  ;  and  so  perfect  were  the  arrangements  in 


LEAVING    NAUVOO. 


UTAH  AND    THE    MORMONS. 


detail,  that  the  degree  of  suffering  was  comparatively 
trifling,  except  what  resulted  from  the  persevering  hos- 
tility of  the  people  of  Illinois.  The  first  band,  consist- 
ing of  something  less  than  2000,  crossed  the  Mississippi 
on  the  ice,  in  February,  1846.  "  To  see,"  says  the 
Times  and  Seasons,  "  such  a  large  body  of  men,  wom- 
en, and  children,  compelled  by  the  inefficiency  of  the 
law,  and  potency  of  mobocracy,  to  leave  a  great  city 
in  the  month  of  February,  for  the  sake  of  the  enjoy- 
ment of  pure  religion,  fills  the  soul  with  astonishment, 
and  gives  the  world  a  sample  of  fidelity  and  faith,  brill- 
iant as  the  sun,  and  forcible  as  a  tempest,  and  as  en- 
during as  eternity." 

This  pioneer  band  encountered  much  severe  weather 
and  suffering.  Other  detachments  followed  from  time 
to  time  during  the  season.  The  Great  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley being  ultimately  fixed  upon  as  the  new  Mormon 
Zion,  an  advance  colony  of  about  4000  arrived  there 
in  July,  1847,  and  went  to  work  diligently  to  irrigate 
the  land  and  put  in  crops.  They  laid  the  foundation 
of  Great  Salt  Lake  City. 

Those  who  still  remained  in  Nauvoo  continued  their 
work  upon  the  Temple,  deeming  the  completion  of  that 
edifice  as  essential  to  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy.  This 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  people  that  they  really  did 
not  intend  to  leave  the  state,  and  a  thousand  rumors 
were  put  into  circulation  that  the  main  body  would 
return  with  a  horde  of  Indian  warriors,  and  take  signal 
vengeance  for  all  their  wrongs.  But  little  was  wanting 
to  fan  into  a  flame  fiercer  than  ever  the  hatred  which 
burned  in  the  popular  mind.  One  form  of  violence 
succeeded  to  another,  still  more  flagrant,  and  finally 

G 


146  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

the  luckless  Saints  who  yet  lingered  within  the  walls 
of  Nauvoo  were  regularly  besieged  in  September,  1846, 
and,  after  fighting  for  two  or  three  days,  were  driven 
from  the  place.  They  made  their  way  in  the  best 
manner  they  could,  under  circumstances  of  much  diffi- 
culty and  suffering,  to  the  temporary  settlements  west 
of  the  Missouri.  It  can  never  be  too  deeply  regretted 
that  such  disgraceful  scenes  were  permitted  to  occur. 
The  Mormons  had  manifested  their  good  faith  by  leav- 
ing as  fast  as  practicable,  and  it  was  in  the  last  degree 
cruel,  cowardly,  and  brutal  to  attack  a  feeble  remnant 
left  behind.  [These  lamentable  occurrences  gave  some 
plausibility  to  the  charge  of  religious  persecution,  which 
the  Saints  have  not  failed  to  make  heard  in  all  lands, 
and  which  has  contributed  so  largely  to  an  augmenta- 
tion of  their  numbers. 

Once  more,  then,  we  find  these  strange  people  fugi- 
tives from  their  homes,  and  now  seeking  an  abiding- 
place  deep  in  the  recesses  of  savage  life.  The  ques- 
tion naturally  occurs,Jffere  they  really  persecuted  on 
account  of  their  religion,  or  were  their  habits  and  prac- 
tices such  as  made  them  intolerable  in  any  civilized 
community?  They  had  essayed  to  establish  them- 
selves in  different  states  of  the  Union,  and  the  result 
would  seem  to  prove  that,  for  some  reason,  they  can 
not  exist  in  contact  with  republican  institutions — that 
they  present  a  combination  of  the  elements  of  popular 
superstition  and  fanaticism,  which,  in  its  constitution 
and  government,  must  necessarily  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  the  citizen,  and  come  into  collision  with  the 
laws  of  the  land.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  strange  anomaly 
of  an  independent  power  within  the  bosom  of  the  state, 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  147 

which,  like  a  camp  of  soldiers,  believed  itself  entitled  to 
liveatfree  quarters  upon  the  surrounding  population. 
-"  '  At  Palmyra,  the  character  of  Smith  and  his  family 
were  held  in  such  light  esteem,  that  he  could  make  no 
proselytes,  and  he  left  voluntarily.  At  Kirtland,  Ohio, 
the  popular  indignation  on  account  of  his  alleged  swin- 
dling operations,  to  say  nothing  of  other  things,  re- 
duced him  to  the  vulgar  necessity  of  running  away. 
His  disciples  became  fugitives  from  Missouri,  because, 
in  the  language  of  Governor  Boggs,  "  they  had  insti- 
tuted a  government  of  their  own,  independent  of,  and 
in  opposition  to,  the  government  of  the  state."  They 
were  received  in  Illinois  with  open  arms,  and  treated 
with  an  extraordinary  degree  of  favor ;  but,  in  the  end, 
were  driven  from  the  state,  after  the  violent  death  of 
their  prophet,  and  compelled  to  seek  shelter  behind  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  And  what  was  the  true  character 
of  the  community  at  Nauvoo  ?  They  admit  them- 
selves that  their  city  had  become  the  common  resort 
of  thieves,  counterfeiters,  &c.,  who  sheltered  their  mis- 
deeds under  the  bad  name  of  the  Saints.  The  most 
conclusive  evidence,  however,  is  furnished  by  their  own 
apologist,  Colonel  T.  L.  Kane,  who  delivered  a  discourse 
before  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  on  the 
subject  of  the  Mormon  exode.  He  says  : 

"  When  the  persecution  triumphed  there,  and  no  al- 
ternative remained  for  the  steadfast  in  the  faith  but 
flight  out  of  Egypt  into  the  wilderness,  as  it  was  term- 
ed, all  their  fair-weather  friends  forsook  them.  Priests 
and  elders,  scribes  and  preachers,  deserted  by  whole 
councils  at  a  time;  each  talented  knave,  of  whose 
craft  they  had  been  the  victims,  finding  his  own  pre- 


148  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

text  for  abandoning  them,  without  surrendering  the 
money-bag  of  which  he  was  the  holder.  One  of  these, 
for  instance,  bore  with  him  so  considerable  a  congre- 
gation, that  he  was  able  to  found  quite  a  thriving  com- 
munity in  Northern  Wisconsin,  which  I  believe  he  af- 
terward transplanted  entire  to  an  island  in  one  of  the 
lakes.  Other  speculative  heresiarchs  folded  for  them- 
selves credulous  sheep  all  through  the  Western  coun- 
try. One  Rigdon,  not  long  since,  held  a  cure  of  them 
in  our  own  state  (Pennsylvania).  Quite  recently,  an 
abandoned  clergyman,  who,  shortly  before  the  exode, 
was  excommunicated  for  improper  conduct,  has  pre- 
sented a  memorial  to  Congress,  in  which  he  charges 
the  Mormons  with  very  much  more  than  he  himself 
appears  to  have  been  guilty  of.  This  abusive  person, 
a  former  intimate  of  the  Major-general  James  Arling- 
ton Bennett,  lately  on  trial  in  New  York,  in  company 
with  a  one-eyed  Thompson  of  that  city,  is  also  the  only 
surviving  brother  of  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and, 
as  such,  still  claims  to  be  the  sole,  true  president,  and 
genuine  arch  high-priest"  (p.  86). 

If  the  design  of  the  author  had  been  to  prove  that 
this  community  was  composed  of  impostors  and  dupes, 
organized  and  systematized  for  mischief,  like  a  prowl- 
ing band  of  wolves,  he  could  not  have  stated  facts 
more  germain  to  the  matter.  Here  were,  it  seems, 
"whole  councils"  composed  of  "priests  and  elders, 
scribes  and  preachers,"  including  William,  the  proph- 
et's brother — leaders  and  rulers  in  Israel — high  in  of- 
fice, and  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  prophet,  and 
who  turn  out  to  be  the  veriest  knaves  and  villains  in 
Christendom.  This  would  seem  to  involve  a  pretty 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  J4Q 

thorough  impeachment  of  Joseph's  pretensions,  who, 
as  prophet-seer,  had  no  right  to  be  imposed  upon  by 
such  "  fair-weather friends  /"  and  the  contiguous  pop- 
ulation of  Grentiles,  who  claimed  neither  the  gift  of 
prophecy  nor  seership,  may  well  be  excused  for  believ- 
ing themselves  cheated  and  robbed  by  the  neighboring 
Saints. 

It  is  a  misnomer  to  say  the  Mormons  have  been  per- 
secuted on  account  of  their  religion.  Religious  perse- 
cution does  not  belong  to  the  American  mind.  Aside 
from  constitutional  and  statutory  protection,  all  forms 
and  creeds  are  tolerated,  however  ridiculous  and  ab- 
surd, provided  their  practical  ultimation  do  not  inter- 
fere with  the  rights  of  others.  Here,  however,  lies  one 
branch  of  the  difficulty.  Mormonism,  unhappily,  fur- 
nishes a  justification  to  the  conscience  of  the  fanatical 
believer  for  the  commission  of  all  the  crimes  which 
have  been  charged  to  its  account.  But  it  is  suggested, 
Why  not  bring  the  criminal  to  justice  by  indictment 
and  trial  ?  Why  resort  to  force  ?  Here  lies  another 
branch  of  the  difficulty.  A  community  like  that  at 
Nauvoo  possessed  almost  unlimited  facilities  for  the 
concealment  of  crime,  in  the  first  instance,  and,  in  the 
end,  for  screening  the  detected  offender  from  justice. 
A  Gentile,  whose  horse  had  been  feloniously  taken  from 
his  stable,  might  trace  it  to  the  Mormon  capital,  but, 
once  within  its  periphery,  and  all  further  trace  would 
be  lost :  it  was  then  as  fruitless  a  task  as  hunting  In- 
dians in  the  everglades  of  Florida  without  the  aid  of 
bloodhounds. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  hostility  against  the 
Saints  was  stimulated  by  mercenary  men,  who  covet- 


150  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

ed  their  lands  and  improvements.  That  it  had  no 
such  incentive  in  Jackson  county,  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  a  proposition  was  fairly  made  to  purchase 
their  property  at  double  its  value.  The  Mormons  hav- 
ing rejected  this  proposition,  and  being  finally  compel- 
led to  remove  under  adverse  circumstances,  it  is  quite 
probable  that  selfish  men  took  advantage  of  the  emer- 
gency, in  many  cases,  to  buy  out  their  titles  at  a  cheap 
rate.  Such  things  would  happen  in  any  community, 
and  we  can  not  suppose  that  a  Western  border  popula- 
tion are  any  more  free  from  unconscientious  and  grasp- 
ing spirits  than  more  refined  societies.  There  is  prob- 
ably more  foundation  for  the  charge  in  the  break-up  at 
Nauvoo.  Cases  of  individual  wrong  will  always  occur 
in  civil  commotions.  Marauders  will  always  be  found, 
hovering,  like  carrion  crows,  around  a  field  of  battle, 
or  a  besieged  city,  watching  their  opportunity  for  plun- 
der; but  it  would  be  short-sighted  enough  to  believe 
that  the  war  was  instigated  by  them.  These  occur- 
rences, however  much  to  be  regretted,  are  not  to  divert 
our  attention  from  the  original  causes  of  the  trouble, 
and  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  Mormon  system  itself 
— in  its  arrogant  religious  pretensions,  its  reeking  licen- 
tiousness, and  its  general  license  to  plunder  the  goods, 
and  trample  upon  the  rights  of  all  "  Gentile"  commu- 
nities with  which  it  may  happen  to  be  in  contact ;  and 
the  authors  and  upholders  of  the  imposture  must  be 
held  accountable,  as  well  for  its  remote  and  collateral, 
as  its  immediate  consequences.  It  is  not  for  them  to 
complain  that,  in  making  war  upon  the  social  morali- 
ty, and  the  civil  and  religious  institutions  of  the  coun- 
try, they  have  not  only  lost  the  battle,  but  come  out 
of  the  contest  with  diminished  resources. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HISTORY    CONTINUED. 

Battalion  for  Mexican  War. — Mormons  arrive  at  Salt  Lake. — Charac- 
ter of  the  Mormon  Exode. — "  Crickets." — General  Address  to  the 
Saints.  — "  Perpetual  Emigrating  Fund  Company,"  and  "  Public 
Works." — State  of  Deseret. — Territory  organized. — Ceremonies  on 
breaking  Ground  for  the  Temple. 

THE  fugitive  Mormons  established  themselves  at  two 
different  points  in  the  Indian  country,  and,  after  a  sea- 
son of  much  privation  and  suffering,  their  affairs  began 
to  brighten.  The  Indians  were  friendly,  their  own  in- 
dustry and  perseverance  worthy  of  all  commendation, 
the  land  was  fertile,  arid  their  crops  abundant. 

It  was  during  the  fore  part  of  their  sojourn  in  this 
region  that  a  Mormon  regiment  was  recruited  into  the 
United  States  service  for  the  Mexican  war.  This,  like 
many  other  matters  connected  with  the  Saints,  has 
been  made  the  subject  of  much  contradictory  remark. 
They  are  fond  of  referring  to  it  as  a  requisition  made 
upon  them  by  the  government  to  test  their  loyalty, 
and  their  ready  response  to  it  is  cited  as  strong  evi- 
dence of  their  patriotic  devotion  to  the  country ;  and 
as  this  regiment  was  on  its  march  to  California  at  the 
period  when  the  remaining  Saints  were  driven  from- 
Nauvoo,  it  offered  an  opportunity  for  comment  not  to 
be  neglected.  In  an  address  to  the  Saints  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  Brigham  Young  certainly  makes  a  strong 
point  on  this  subject.  After  taking  a  retrospect  of  the 


152  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

sufferings  and  persecutions  of  the  Mormons,  he  says : 
"  And,  hard  as  it  was  to  write  it,  it  must  forever  re- 
main a  truth  on  the  page  of  history,  that,  while  the 
flower  of  Israel's  camp  were  sustaining  the  wing  of 
the  American  eagle  by  their  influence  and  arms  in  a 
foreign  country,  their  brothers,  sisters,  fathers,  moth- 
ers, and  children  were  driven  by  mob  violence  from  a 
free  and  independent  state  of  the  same  national  repub- 
lic, and  were  compelled  to  flee  from  the  fire,  the  sword, 
the  musket,  and  the  cannon's  mouth,  as  from  the  de- 
mon of  death." 

Some  of  the  Mormon  seceders  represent  that  they  in- 
tended to  excite  an  Indian  war,  and  furnished  the  men 
to  lull  suspicion,  knowing  that  active  service  would  in 
the  end  make  them  a  well-disciplined  corps.  But  it  is 
not  probable  there  was  any  settled  purpose  of  the  kind. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  presumed  that  they  felt  much  attach- 
ment to  a  country  which  they  had  over  and  over  again 
doomed  to  destruction,  and  against  which  they  habit- 
ually indulged  in  bitter  complaints  and  denunciations. 
According  to  WjUiaia,^Smith,  the  prophet  Joseph's 
brother,  the  leaders  intended  to  establish  an  independ- 
ent government  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  and  as 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley,  to  which  they  were  jour- 
neying, was  at  the  time  Mexican  territory,  there  would 
seem  to  be  good  evidence  to  that  effect.  Their  profes- 
sions of  loyalty  and  patriotism  must  therefore  be  re- 
ceived with  many  grains  of  allowance.  Colonel  Kane 
says:  "At  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war, 
the  President  considered  it  desirable  to  march  a  body 
of  reliable  infantry  to  California  at  as  early  a  period  as 
practicable,  and  the  known  hardihood  and  habits  of 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


discipline  of  the  Mormons  were  supposed  peculiarly  to 
fit  them  for  this  service.  As  California  was  supposed, 
also,  to  be  their  ultimate  destination,  the  long  march 
would  cost  them  less  than  other  citizens.  They  were 
accordingly  invited  to  furnish  a  battalion  of  volunteers 
early  in  the  month  of  July"  (p.  27). 

The  transaction  seems,  then,  one  of  convenience  on 
both  sides  ;  the  government  wanted  some  good  troops, 
and  the  Saints  were  willing  to  fight  for  pay,  especially 
in  the  direction  and  against  an  enemy  which  harmon- 
ized so  remarkably  well  with  their  ulterior  designs. 
They  were  at  that  time,  too,  in  great  need  of  ready 
funds,  and  the  bounty,  or  portion  of  the  pay,  which  is 
said  to  have  amounted  to  some  $20,000,  was  paid  to 
the  authorities  of  the  Church,  and  more  than  counter- 
balanced the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  absence 
of  that  number  of  men.  ^* 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1847,  a  pioneer  band  of  0110 
hundred  and  forty-three  men,  with  seventy  wagons, 
started  on  their  westward  journey,  with  all  the  means 
and  appliances  for  forming  a  settlement.  They  reach- 
ed the  valley  of  Great  Salt  Lake  in  July,  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  their  present  capital,  and  put  in  extensive 
crops  for  the  future  necessities  of  the  incoming  Saints. 
Others  followed  at  short  intervals,  and  some  four  thou- 
sand people  became  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  during 
that  year.  In  1848,  nearly  all  that  remained  made 
their  way  to  the  new  land  of  promise.  Fortunately, 
the  land  cost  them  nothing,  and  all  the  money  and 
goods  saved  from  the  wreck  of  their  property  at  Nau- 
voo  they  were  able  to  devote  to  other  uses  than  acquir- 
ing a  property  in  the  soil. 


156  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

This  was  a  remarkable  exode,  in  respect  to  its  num- 
bers, the  motives  by  which  they  were  stimulated,  and 
the  admirable  manner  in  which  it  was  effected ;  but 
it  is  still  more  remarkable,  in  a  country  where  a  cease- 
less tide  of  emigration  has  been  for  years,  and  still  is, 
surging  from  the  east  to  the  west,  under  no  greater 
stimulus  than  the  love  of  change  or  hope  of  gain,  that 
this  particular  case  should  be  singled  out  as  "  not  par- 
alleled in  the  history  of  mankind  since  Moses  led  the 
Israelites  from  Egypt."  In  fact,  the  task  was  com- 
paratively an  easy  one.  The  whole  history  of  Mormon- 
ism  is  a  continuing  illustration  of  the  prodigious  power 
of  religious  fanaticism  over  the  mind.  It  required  no 
greater  effort  to  induce  the  Mormons  to  remove  from 
Nauvoo  to  Salt  Lake  than  from  their  previous  homes 
to  the  gathering-place  of  the  Saints  for  the  time,  nor 
so  great,  because  the  concentrated  enthusiasm  of  the 
multitude  easily  sways  and  carries  along  individual 
minds.  There  was  skill  and  good  management  in  de- 
tails, which  enabled  large  masses  to  emigrate  in  safety ; 
but  the  way  had  been  fully  explored.  Thousands  of 
families  had  previously,  in  small  bands,  performed  the 
tedious  journey  to  Oregon,  without  the  stimulus  of 
religious  enthusiasm,  running  the  gauntlet  of  Indian 
hostilities  under  far  more  discouraging  circumstances, 
and  strewing  the  interminable  road  with  frequent  evi- 
dences of  suffering  and  mortality.  The  Mormons  ac- 
complished one  half  of  this  journey  in  bands  too  pow- 
erful to  be  molested  by  Indians,  united  by  the  same 
religious  faith,  and  under  the  control  and  direction  of 
a  single  will. 

Perhaps  the  traveler  who  threads  his  way  over  the 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


same  journey,  breathes  the  same  pure,  joyous,  bracing 
air,  hunts  the  same  game,  and  gazes  upon  the  same 
spreading  plains  and  cloud-capped  mountains,  may  not 
be  able  to  see  and  appreciate  the  peculiar  wonders 
with  which  the  Mormons'  pilgrimage  may  be  legit- 
imately invested.  The  Saints,  however,  are  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  the  marvelous.  In  their  eyes  it  was  a 
flight  into  the  wilderness  from  a  storm  of  religious  per- 
secution, and  was  attended  with  uncommon  dangers, 
and  surrounded  with  uncommon  protection.  If  the 
cloud  by  day,  and  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  were  not  act- 
ually visible  to  mortal  sight,  they  were  no  less  really 
present,  and  the  exode  and  its  results  were  attended 
with  miracles  and  wonders.  On  the  arrival  of  Brigham 
Young  with  the  first  presidency  in  the  valley,  he  was 
too  sick  to  be  able  to  rise  from  his  carriage-bed  ;  but 
when  the  party  reached  a  particular  spot,  he  became 
suddenly  restored,  rose  up,  and,  directing  attention  to 
the  top  of  a  high  mountain  peak,  proclaimed  that  he 
had  in  vision  seen  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  standing 
there,  pointing  down  to  the  spot  then  occupied  by  them 
as  the  site  of  the  future  Temple.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  this  place  is  Temple  Block,  on  which  the  sacred 
edifice  is  now  being  built. 

The  year  1848  was  one  of  privation  and  suffering 
prior  to  the  maturing  of  the  growing  crops.     Among     , 
other  discouraging  incidents,  a  curious  kind  of  "  crick- 
et" made  its  appearance  in  myriads,  manifesting  all    . 
the  destructive  properties  of  the  locust  of  Eastern  coun- 
tries.   All  vegetation  was  swept  clean  before  its  fright- 
ful progress   as  effectually  as  the  grass  before   the 
scorching  fury  of  a  prairie  conflagration,  and  the  crops 


160  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

put  in  with  so  much  toil,  and  on  which  so  much  de- 
pended, were  fast  disappearing.  Suddenly,  however, 
flocks  of  white  gulls  floated  over  the  mountain  tops, 
with  healing  in  their  wings,  and  stayed  this  withering 
destruction  by  feasting  upon  the  destroyer.  It  is  no 
matter  for  wonder  that  the  leaders  should  place  this  in 
the  list  of  miraculous  interpositions  in  their  favor,  nor 
that  the  mass  of  the  Saints  should  implicitly  believe 
that  the  gulls  were  hatched  into  sudden  maturity  for 
the  occasion ;  but  it  is  a  little  strange  that  one,  of  the 
evident  intelligence  of  Colonel  Kane,  should  speak  of 
these  fowl  as  "  before  strangers  to  the  valley." 

The  crickets  and  the  gulls  have  been  annual  visitors 
since,  as  they  were  before,  the  bane  and  the  antidote 
together ;  and  the  Mormons  have  been  able  to  raise 
enough  to  supply  not  only  their  own  wants,  but  a  sur- 
plus for  the  emigrants  to  California  and  Oregon. 

After  the  pioneer  company  reached  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley, and  commenced  a  permanent  settlement,  another 
address  was  issued  to  the  Saints  all  over  the  world. 
This  address  is  very  long,  and  embraces  a  great  variety 
of  subjects  relative  to  the  gathering  of  the  Saints  in 
their  mountain  Zion.  The  design  of  Brigham  Young 
did  not  end  in  merely  escaping  from  persecution — it 
had  been  foreshadowed  by  "William  Smith — it  was  to 
found  an  independent  state ;  and  this  address  develops 
the  comprehensiveness  of  the  plan.  The  Saints  were 
not  only  required  to  assemble  at  the  common  centre, 
but  to  come  provided  for  all  possible  emergencies.  The 
following  will  be  sufficient  to  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  its  scope  and  compass : 

"And  to  all  the  Saints  in  any  country  bordering 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


upon  the  Atlantic,  we  would  say,  pursue  the  same 
course.  Come  immediately,  and  prepare  to  go  West, 
bringing  with  you  all  kinds  of  choice  seeds  of  grain, 
vegetables,  fruits,  shrubbery,  trees,  and  vines—  -every 
thing  that  will  please  the  eye,  gladden  the  heart,  or 
cheer  the  soul  of  man,  that  grows  upon  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth  ;  also,  the  best  stock  of  beast,  bird,  and 
fowl  of  every  kind;  also,  the  best  tools  of  every  de- 
scription, and  machinery  for  spinning  or  weaving,  and 
dressing  cotton,  wool,  flax,  and  silk,  &c.,  &c.,  or  mod- 
els and  descriptions  of  the  same,  by  which  they  can 
construct  them  ;  and  the  same  in  relation  to  all  kinds 
of  farming  utensils  and  husbandry,  such  as  corn-shell- 
ers,  grain-thrashers  and  cleaners,  smut-machines,  mills, 
and  every  implement  and  article  within  their  knowl- 
edge that  shall  tend  to  promote  the  comfort,  health, 
happiness,  or  prosperity  of  any  people. 

"  It  is  very  desirable  that  all  the  Saints  should  im- 
prove every  opportunity  of  securing  at  least  a  copy  of 
every  valuable  treatise  on  education  —  every  book,  map, 
chart,  or  diagram  that  may  contain  interesting,  useful, 
and  attractive  matter,  to  gain  the  attention  of  children, 
and  cause  them  to  love  to  read  ;  and  also  every  histor- 
ical, mathematical,  philosophical,  geographical,  geolog- 
ical, astronomical,  scientific,  practical,  and  all  other 
variety  of  useful  and  interesting  writings,  maps,  &c., 
to  present  to  the  general  Church  Recorder  when  they 
shall  arrive  at  their  destination,  from  which  important 
and  interesting  matter  may  be  gleaned  to  compile  the 
most  valuable  works  on  every  science  and  subject,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  rising  generation. 

"  Let  all  Saints  who  love  God  more  than  their  own 


J62  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

dear  selves — and  none  else  are  Saints— gather,  without 
delay,  to  the  place  appointed,  bringing  their  gold,  their 
silver,  their  copper,  their  zinc,  their  tin,  and  brass,  and 
iron,  and  choice  steel,  and  ivory,  and  precious  stones, 
their  curiosities  of  science,  of  art,  of  nature,  and  every 
thing  in  their  possession  or  within  their  reach,  to  build 
in  strength  and  stability,  to  beautify,  to  adorn,  to  em- 
bellish, to  delight,  and  to  cast  a  fragrance  over  the 
house  of  the  Lord ;  with  sweet  instruments  of  music 
and  melody,  and  songs,  and  fragrance,  and  sweet  odors, 
and  beautiful  colors,  whether  it  be  in  precious  jewels, 
or  minerals,  or  choice  ores,  or  in  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge, or  understanding,  manifested  in  carved  work,  or 
curious  workmanship  of  the  box,  the  fir,  and  pine-tree, 
or  any  thing  that  ever  was,  or  is,  or  is  to  be,  for  the 
exaltation,  glory,  honor,  salvation  of  the  living  and  the 
dead  for  time  and  all  eternity." 

The  address  manifests  much  tact  and  ability,  and 
was  well  calculated  to  promote  the  objects  intended. 
It  winds  up  with  the  usual  high  pretenses  to  a  love  of 
order  and  morality  which  has  ever  distinguished  the 
preaching  of  this  anomalous  community : 

"  The  kingdom  of  God  consists  in  correct  principles, 
and  it  mattereth  not  what  a  man's  religious  faith  is — 
whether  he  be  a  Presbyterian,  or  a  Methodist,  or  a 
Baptist,  or  a  Latter-day  Saint,  or  '  Mormon,'  or  a 
Campbellite,  or  a  Catholic,  or  Episcopalian,  or  Moham- 
medan, or  even  Pagan,  or  any  thing  else.  If  he  will  bow 
the  knee,  and  with  his  tongue  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  and  will  support  good  and  wholesome  laws  for 
the  regulation  of  society,  we  hail  him  as  a  brother,  and 
will  stand  by  him  as  he  stands  by  us  in  these  things ; 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  1(33 

for  every  man's  faith  is  a  matter  between  his  own  soul 
and  his  God  alone.  But  if  he  shall  deny  the  Jesus — 
if  he  shall  curse  God — if  he  shall  indulge  in  debauch- 
ery, and  drunkenness,  and  crime — if  he  shall  lie,  and 
swear,  and  steal — if  he  shall  take  the  name  of  the  great 
God  in  vain,  and  commit  all  manner  of  abominations, 
he  shall  have  no  place  in  our  midst ;  for  we  have 
long  sought  to  find  a  people  that  will  work  righteous- 
ness— that  will  distribute  justice  equally — that  will 
acknowledge  God  in  all  their  ways- — that  will  regard 
those  sacred  laws  and  ordinances  which  are  recorded 
in  that  sacred  book  called  the  Bible,  which  we  verily 
believe,  and  which  we  proclaim  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth." 

It  is  owing  to  the  comprehensive  views  of  this  ad- 
dress being  measurably  carried  out  that  we  find  so 
many  of  the  means  and  appliances  of  civilized  life  in 
the  Great  Basin.  Flouring-mills  have  been  erected 
upon  some  of  the  numerous  streams  which  pour  down 
from  the  mountains,  sufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of 
the  people ;  and  a  few  saw-mills  have  been  put  up  at 
points  where  the  scanty  timber  is  to  be  found  in  most 
abundance.  Other  mechanical  employments  are  also 
in  operation  to  an  extent  equal  to  the  wants  of  such  a 
community. 

The  Saints  went  on  gathering  as  fast  as  distance 
and  other  circumstances  would  permit,  in  obedience  to 
the  injunctions  of  the  reigning  prophet.  But  many 
were  poor,  and,  especially  in  Great  Britain,  unable  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  so  great  a  journey  without  aid 
from  the  Church.  This  gave  rise  to  two  institutions, 
"The  Perpetual  Emigrating  Fund  Company,"  and 


1(34  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

"  The  Public  "Works,"  which,  in  connection  with  "  The 
Tithing-office,"  are  now  engines  of  state  in  the  hands 
of  the  ecclesiastical  despotism  existing  in  Utah.  The 
subject  is  thus  alluded  to  in  a  letter  from  Brigham 
Young,  dated  October  14th,  1849,  to  Orson  Pratt,  then 
in  England : 

"You  will  learn  from  our  general  epistle  the  princi- 
pal events  occurring  with  us ;  but  we  have  thought 
proper  to  write  you  more  particularly  in  relation  to 
some  matters  of  general  interest — in  an  especial  man- 
ner, the  perpetual  emigrating  fund  for  the  poor  Saints. 
This  fund,  we  wish  all  to  understand,  is  perpetual,  and, 
in  order  to  be  kept  good,  will  need  constant  accessions. 
To  further  this  end,  we  expect  all  who  are  benefited 
by  its  operation  will  be  willing  to  reimburse  that 
amount  as  soon  as  they  are  able,  facilities  for  which 
will,  very  soon  after  their  arrival  here,  present  them- 
selves in  the  shape  of  public  works." 

These  "  Public  "Works"  were  soon  after  permanent- 
ly established,  under  the  direction  and  control  of  the 
Church.  They  consist  of  work-shops,  built  on  Temple 
Block,  in  which  various  mechanical  trades  are  carried 
on  as  systematically  as  in  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  the  States.  The  poor  emigrating  Saint  is, 
through  the  "  Perpetual  Emigrating  Fund  Company," 
furnished  with  the  means  of  performing  the  great  jour- 
ney, but,  when  he  gets  to  Zion,  he  is  without  food,  rai- 
ment, or  shelter.  A  house  is  speedily  built  for  him, 
and  he  is  placed  in  the  "  Public  Works"  to  work  out 
the  debt,  during  which  process  he -is  furnished  with 
the  necessaries  of  life  from  the  Tithing-office,  to  the 
amount  of  a  moiety  of  the  value  of  his  labor ;  and  as 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


he  is  charged  enormously  for  what  he  receives,  as  well 
as  a  tithe  of  his  labor,  he  is  in  a  state  of  almost  hope- 
less servitude  ;  like  the  frog  in  the  well,  which  fell 
back  one  foot  at  night  for  every  two  feet  hopped  out  in 
the  daytime,  his  final  extrication  is  hedged  around 
with  discouraging  drawbacks. 

The  Mexican  war  terminated,  and  the  members  of 
the  Mormon  battalion  straggled  back,  part  of  them  to 
Utah,  and  part  remained  in  California.  The  treaty  of 
Gaudeloupe  Hidalgo  followed,  and  the  Saints  still  found 
themselves  within  the  dominions  of  the  great  persecut- 
ing republic,  from  which  they  had  made  such  perse- 
vering efforts  to  escape.  But  they  were  by  themselves, 
in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  excluded  from  ob- 
servation, and  secure,  at  least,  from  present  molesta- 
tion ;  and  the  next  best  thing  to  becoming  a  state  in- 
dependent of  the  Union,  was  to  become  an  independ- 
ent state  of  the  Union.  Brigham  Young  hastened, 
therefore,  to  organize  the  new  State  of  "  Deseret,"  un- 
der a  Constitution,  with  the  following  boundaries  : 
"  Commencing  at  the  33d  degree  of  north  latitude, 
where  it  crosses  the  108th  degree  of  longitude,  west 
of  Greenwich  ;  thence  running  south  and  west  to  the 
northern  boundary  of  Mexico  ;  thence  west  to,  and 
down  the  main  channel  of  the  Grila  River,  on  the 
northern  line  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  northern  boundary 
of  Lower  California  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  thence  along 
the  coast  northwesterly  to  118  degrees  30  minutes  of 
west  longitude  ;  thence  north  to  where  said  line  inter- 
sects the  dividing  ridge  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mount- 
ains ;  thence  north  along  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada Mountains  to  the  dividing  range  of  mountains 


166  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

that  separates  the  waters  flowing  into  the  Columbia 
River  from  the  waters  running  into  the  Great  Basin ; 
thence  easterly  along  the  dividing  range  of  mountains 
that  separates  said  waters  flowing  into  the  Columbia 
River  on  the  north  from  the  waters  flowing  into  the 
Great  Basin  on  the  south,  to  the  summit  of  the  Wind 
River  chain  of  mountains ;  thence  southeast  and  south 
by  the  dividing  range  of  mountains  that  separate  the 
waters  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  the  wa- 
ters flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  to  the  place  of 
beginning,  as  set  forth  in  a  map  drawn  by  Charles 
Preass,  and  published  by  order  of  the  Senate  of  the 
"United  States  in  1848." 

The  term  "  Deseret,"  in  Mormon  language,  is  said 
to  signify  the  "  Land  of  the  Honey-bee ;"  yet,  strange 
to  say,  this  useful  insect,  typical  of  order  and  industry, 
is  unknown  in  the  Great  Basin.  One  of  the  emigrat- 
ing bands  of  the  Saints  took  in  three  hives,  one  of 
which,  with  great  care  and  management,  survived  the 
severe  winter  of  1849-50 ;  but,  unluckily,  in  the  en- 
suing summer,  this  hive  was  found  one  morning  some 
distance  from  its  proper  place,  robbed  of  its  sweets, 
and  the  poor  bees  scattered  abroad. 

The  bounds  of  the  State  of  Deseret  would  probably 
have  been  found  to  contain  the  requisite  numbers  for 
admission  into  the  Union ;  but  Congress  wisely  con- 
cluded to  shear  this  ambitious  stranger  of  her  self-con- 
stituted proportions,  and  wait  until  the  Saints  should 
give  some  better  evidences  of  good  citizenship  before 
investing  them  with  the  full  panoply  of  state  sovereign- 
ty. The  present  Territory  of  Utah  was  organized  in 
1850  under  an  act  of  Congress,  soon  after  which  Brig- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


ham  Young  was  appointed  Governor  by  the  Presi- 
dent. 

In  the  summer  of  1851,  the  Legislative  Assembly 
was  elected  under  the  Territorial  Bill,  and  held  its  first 
session  in  the  following  fall  and  winter  ;  and  from  this 
period  the  laws  of  the  United  States  have  been  nomin- 
ally in  operation  —  what  the  reality  is  in  this  respect 
will  appear  more  fully  as  we  proceed. 

After  the  confusion  incident  to  the  influx  of  large 
numbers  had  measurably  settled  into  something  like 
order,  Brigham  Young  turned  his  attention  to  temple 
building,  which  seems  ever  to  have  been  the  focal  point 
of  Mormon  fanaticism.  Temple  Block,  to  which  the 
index  finger  of  the  martyred  Joseph  had  pointed  from 
Ensign  Peak  in  Brigham's  vision,  was  duly  set  apart 
and  consecrated  for  sacerdotal  purposes.  A  tabernacle 
was  speedily  built  for  present  use;  but  the  Temple, 
without  which  the  dead  could  not  be  baptized  from 
Purgatory,  required  deliberation  and  time  to  erect  upon 
a  scale  of  grandeur  equal  to  the  present  prosperity  and 
anticipations  of  the  future  greatness  of  the  Saints.  A 
wall,  surrounding  the  whole  block,  of  reddish  sand- 
stone, handsomely  dressed,  was  nearly  completed  on 
two  sides  up  to  the  spring  of  1853.  Every  step  in 
the  progress  of  this  mighty  edifice  and  its  appurtenan- 
ces has  been  commemorated  by  imposing  ceremonies 
in  the  presence  of  multitudes.  The  one  witnessed  by 
the  author,  on  the  occasion  of  breaking  ground  for  the 
foundation  of  the  building  (February  14th,  1853),  will 
give  the  reader  some  faint  idea  of  the  modus  operandi 
by  which  "  Latter-day"  fanaticism  is  kept  up  to  its  fe- 
ver heat. 


168  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

The  day  was  superbly  fine,  the  atmosphere  without 
a  cloud,  and  the  panoramic  view  such  as  no  other  place 
can  exhibit.  The  mountains  east,  west,  and  south 
were  covered  with  snow,  and  glittered  gloriously  in 
the  sun.  The  ceremonies  were  to  commence  at  eleven 
o'clock.  Before  the  hour  a  great  multitude  assembled, 
to  the  amount  of  some  thousands,  with  a  large  infusion 
of  women  and  children.  A  stake  was  driven  down  at 
the  point  intended  for  the  centre  of  the  building.  Two 
large  brass  bands  were  in  attendance,  and  discoursed 
good  music,  among  which  was  our  old  acquaintance 
"  Hail  Columbia !"  A  wagon  was  stationed  at  an  ap- 
propriate place,  as  a  stand  for  those  who  were  to  con- 
duct the  exercises  of  the  day.  At  the  appointed  time, 
the  Governor  took  his  station  and  addressed  the  mul- 
titude. The  tenor  of  his  remarks  was  :  That  they 
were  now  about  to  make  a  third  attempt  to  build  a 
Temple ;  that  they  had  tried  twice  before,  but  had  not 
been  permitted  to  finish  one  and  enjoy  it  any  length  of 
time ;  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  brethren  to  go  on 
with  the  work,  even  if  it  should  cost  a  million,  and 
they  knew  they  were  to  leave  it  the  day  after  its  com- 
pletion ;  that,  if  they  were  destined  to  leave  it,  it  would 
be  their  duty  to  leave  it  with  cheerfulness ;  that  some 
might  wish  to  know  what  his  knowledge  was  on  the 
subject— whether  he  had  had  a  revelation  as  to  the 
site  of  the  Temple;  that,  for  seven  years  past,  the 
very  spot  had  been  present  in  his  mind,  in  dreams  and 
visions,  notwithstanding  individuals  had  gone  in  differ- 
ent directions  to  hunt  out  a  place,  and  if  they  wished 
him  to  write  out  the  revelation,  he  would  do  so ;  but 
that  no  revelation  or  command  was  necessary-^— the 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


people  were  bound  to  "build  a  temple  without  any  — 
they  might  as  well  ask  for  a  revelation  to  build  a  house 
for  themselves.  He  took  them  to  task  for  not  prompt- 
ly paying  their  tithes  ;  said  if  the  tithes  were  paid,  as 
they  should  be,  there  would  be  no  need  of  extra  contri- 
butions to  go  on  with  the  building.  Once,  and  but 
once,  he  excited  a  laugh  in  the  crowd,  but  it  was  done 
in  a  way  which  harmonized  well  enough  with  the 
time  and  occasion.  He  said  there  were  very  many 
present  who  had  not  the  rare  privilege  of  being  perse- 
cuted by  mobs,  &c.,  but  that  they  need  not  give  them- 
selves any  uneasiness,  as  their  time  would  come  yet, 
in  some  form  or  other. 

The  Governor  speaks  easily,  has  a  ready  flow  of 
words,  and  a  voice  of  sufficient  compass  for  out-door 
speaking.  He  is  not  what  would  be  called  an  eloquent 
or  impassioned  speaker  in  the  States.  He  is  very  self- 
possessed,  and  his  manner  is  deliberate  and  argument- 
ative. He  was  listened  to  with  the  most  profound 
attention,  and  evidently  has  the  most  unbounded  in- 
fluence with  the  people. 

After  the  address  succeeded  a  prayer  by  Elder  Kim- 
ball,  very  much  in  the  manner  of  prayers  on  such  occa- 
sions. There  were  some  allusions  which  a  stranger  to 
the  Mormon  creed  would  not  have  understood  ;  for  in- 
stance, he  thanked  the  Lord,  among  other  things,  for 
our  tabernacles.  This  was  in  reference  to  their  doc- 
trine, that  our  spirits  existed  as  intelligent  beings  long 
before  our  bodies,  which  they  call  tabernacles  ;  and 
that  the  spirits  enter  into  these  tabernacles  for  the 
purpose  of  having  an  earthly  body  in  the  resurrection. 
The  address  and  prayer,  with  intervening  music,  being 

T~T 


170  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ended,  the  ceremony  of  excavating  was  commenced  by 
the  Governor,  who  was  succeeded  by  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, each  throwing  up  a  small  quantity  of  earth ;  after 
which  the  assembly  was  dismissed.  The  ceremonies 
were  imposing,  and  there  was  an  evident  manifestation 
of  the  tremendous  power  of  religious  enthusiasm  under 
the  direction  of  a  single  will.  I  am  but  little  learned 
in  scientific  phrenology,  but  I  think  the  ready  eye  of 
one  of  our  Fowlers  would  have  detected  the  organs  of 
veneration  and  marvelousness  prominently  developed, 
while  the  heads  of  the  multitude  were  uncovered  dur- 
ing the  prayer. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  such  a  ceremony  could 
pass  without  something  of  the  marvelous.  A  gold 
dollar  was  found  by  the  prophet- Governor  while  en- 
gaged in  the  work,  which  was,  of  course,  seen  by  one 
of  the  twelve  to  drop  from  the  clouds,  and  was  inter- 
preted to  mean  that  the  Saints  were  to  be  amply  sup- 
plied with  funds  for  this  glorious  work. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GOVERNMENT. 

Priesthoods. — The  President  is  Prophet  and  Seer :  his  Power. — Tith- 
ing.— Individual  cases. — Tithing-office. 

THE  government  of  the  Mormon  Church,  like  its 
doctrines,  has  been  a  matter  of  after-thought.  At 
first  it  was  simple  enough,  consisting  of  the  prophet 
as  the  supreme  head,  and  the  leading  men  as  priests 
under  him,  without  division  into  particular  orders.  As 
the  tide  of  success,  however,  began  to  elevate  him 
upon  its  swelling  flood,  and  visions  of  ambition  and 
power  floated  through  his  brain,  his  ideas  of  govern- 
ment rapidly  swelled  and  expanded,  like  an  anaconda 
in  swallowing  a  captive  tiger.  As  multitudes  gathered 
into  the  new  Zion  and  its  numerous  stakes,  they  could 
not  be  moulded  to  the  prophet's  will  and  controlled 
without  a  regular  system.  This  has  given  rise  to  a 
very  singular  machinery  of  Church  government,  part 
of  which  is  apparent,  and  part,  consisting  of  secret  ini- 
tiatory ceremonies,  is  sedulously  guarded  from  profane 
curiosity. 

That  which  is  open  to  observation  has  been  duly 
established  by  revelation,  and  consists  of  complicated 
and  imposing  machinery ;  and  there  is  probably  no 
government  in  the  world  so  well  calculated  to  concen- 
trate despotic  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few.  There  are 
two  priesthoods  in  the  Church— -the  Melchisedek  and 


172  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

the  Aaronic  (which  latter  includes  the  Levitical).  All 
other  authorities  are  appendages  to  one  or  the  other 
of  these  priesthoods.  Each  priesthood  holds  the  keys 
of  the  peculiar  mysteries  which  it  has  in  charge.  The 
key  is  an  important  emblem  in  Mormon  symbolics. 
All  heavenly  mysteries  are  duly  lockqd  up,  and  can  not 
be  opened  except  by  the  agent  who  is  authorized  to 
hold  and  use  the  key. 

The  Melchisedek  is  the  superior  priesthood,  and  con- 
sists of  high  priests  and  elders ;  the  Aaronic  is  inferior, 
and  made  up  of  bishops,  priests,  teachers,  and  deacons. 
The  Melchisedek  priesthood  is  clustered  about  with 
holy  sanctions  and  sublime  mysteries,  which  strike 
awe  into  the  minds  of  the  simple-minded  believers : 

"  And  the  sons  of  Moses,  according  to  the  holy  priest- 
hood which  he  received  under  the  hand  of  his  father- 
in-law  Jethro,  and  Jetliro  received  it  under  the  hand 
of  Caleb,  and  Caleb  received  it  under  the  hand  of  Elihu, 
and  Elihu  under  the  hand  of  Jeremy,  and  Jeremy  un- 
der the  hand  of  God,  and  God  under  the  hand  of  Esaias, 
and  Esaias  received  it  under  the  hand  of  God ;  Esaias 
also  lived  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  was  blessed  of 
him ;  which  Abraham  received  the  priesthood  from 
Melchisedek,  who  received  it  through  the  lineage  of 
his  fathers,  even  till  Noah  ;  and  from  Noah  till  Enoch, 
through  the  lineage  of  their  fathers;  and  from  Enoch 
to  Abel,  who  was  slain  by  the  conspiracy  of  his  brother, 
who  received  the  priesthood,  by  the  commandments  of 
God,  by  the  hand  of  his  father  Adam,  who  was  the 
first  man ;  •which  priesthood  continueth  in  the  Church 
of  God  in  all  generations,  and  is  without  beginning  of 
days  or  end  of  years." 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


"  The  power  and  authority  of  the  Melchisedek  priest- 
hood is  to  hold  the  keys  of  all  the  spiritual  blessings 
of  the  Church,  to  have  the  privilege  of  receiving  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  to  have  the  heav- 
ens opened  unto  them,  and  to  enjoy  the  communion 
and  presence  of  God  the  Father,  and  Jesus  Christ  the 
Mediator  of  the  new  covenant.'7  (Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants^ p.  101.) 

"  The  power  and  authority  of  the  lesser,  or  Aaronio 
priesthood,  is  to  hold  the  keys  of  the  ministering  of 
angels,  and  to  administer  in  outward  ordinances  —  the 
letter  of  the  Gospel  —  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  agreeably  to  the  covenants  and  com- 
mandments." (P.  102.) 

These  priesthoods  have  their  presidencies,  which  con- 
trol them  and  all  below  them.  The  bishopric  is  the 
presidency  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  and  hold  the  keys 
of  the  same. 

The  very  apex  of  the  pyramid  is  the  presidency  of 
the  Melchisedek  priesthood,  and  consequently  of  the 
whole  Church.  This  is  the  quorum  of  three,  and  is 
commonly  called  the  first  presidency,  which  is  the  high- 
est authority  for  the  final  decision  of  all  questions,  and 
to  whom  all  persons  in  the  Church  are  subject. 

There  are  also  twelve  apostles,  called  also  a  quorum, 
who  are,  in  theory,  equal  in  power  to  the  presidency  of 
three  ;  though  this  is  by  no  means  the  case  in  practice. 
Their  decisions,  to  be  of  equal  weight,  must  be  unan- 
imous, and  of  the  whole  body  ;  and  as  it  is  their  more 
especial  business  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach, 
under  the  direction  of  the  first  presidency,  it  is  very 
seldom  that  they  can  exercise  much  effective  power. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


There  are  also  quorums  of  seventies,  who,  in  theory, 
may  decide  matters  for  the  Church,  under  the  same 
qualification  of  unanimity.  These  seventies  are  trav- 
eling quorums  for  preaching  under  the  direction  of  the 
twelve,  as  the  latter  are  under  the  direction  of  the 
three.  A  general  assembly  of  all  the  quorums  consti- 
tute the  spiritual  authorities  of  the  Church. 

In  extraordinary  cases,  a  high  council  is  convened. 
This  tribunal  was  organized  in  1834  by  revelation,  as 
follows  : 

"  1.  This  day  a  general  council  of  twenty-four  high 
priests  assembled  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  by 
revelation,  and  proceeded  to  organize  the  high  council 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  which  was  to  consist  of  twelve 
high  priests,  and  one  or  three  presidents,  as  the  case 
might  require.  The  high  council  was  appointed  by 
revelation  for  the  purpose  of  settling  important  diffi- 
culties which  might  arise  in  the  Church,  which  could 
not  be  settled  by  the  Church  or  the  bishop's  council  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  parties. 

"  2.  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  Sidney  Rigdon,  and  Frederick 
G.  "Williams,  were  acknowledged  presidents  by  the  voice 
of  the  council  ;  and  Joseph  Smith,  Sen.,  John  Smith,  Jo- 
seph Coe,  John  Johnson,  Martin  Harris,  John  S.  Carter, 
Jared  Carter,  Oliver  Cowdry,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  Orson 
Hyde,  Sylvester  Smith,  and  Luke  Johnson,  high  priests, 
were  chosen  to  be  a  standing  council  for  the  Church, 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  council." 

Each  quorum  has  its  president;  and  the  president 
of  the  quorum  of  three  is  the  president  of  the  high 
council,  and  over  all  the  Church,  from  whom  "  comes 
the  administration  of  ordinances  and  blessings  upon 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


the  Church,  by  the  laying  on  of  hands."  Joseph  Smith 
was  the  first  president  ;  Brigham  Young  is  the  present 
one. 

The  president  is  "  the  seer,  revelator,  and  prophet, 
having  all  the  gifts  of  God,  which  he  bestows  upon  the 
head  of  the  Church."  As  president  of  the  high  coun- 
cil, he  may,  "  in  cases  of  difficulty  respecting  doctrine 
or  principle,  inquire  and  obtain  the  mind  of  the  Lord 
by  revelation." 

The  prophet  Joseph  was  very  careful  to  secure  this 
feature  of  absolute  power,  the  obedient  oracle,  of 
course,  always  giving  the  requisite  response.  In  April, 
1830,  it  uttered  as  follows  : 

"  Behold,  there  shall  be  a  record  kept  among  you, 
and  in  it  thou  shalt  be  called  a  seer,  a  translator,  a 
prophet,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  an  elder  of  the 
Church,  through  the  will  of  God  the  Father,  and  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  being  inspired  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  lay  the  foundation  thereof,  and  to  build 
it  up  unto  the  most  holy  faith."  (Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants^ p.  265.) 

And  in  September,  1830,  the  following  important 
enunciation  was  given  on  this  point  : 

"  But  behold,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  no  one 
shall  be  appointed  to  receive  commandments  and  rev- 
elations in  this  Church  excepting  my  servant  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  for  he  receive  th  them  even  as  Moses  ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  obedient  unto  the  things  which  I  shall 
give  unto  him,  even  as  Aaron,  to  declare  faithfully  the 
commandments  and  revelations  with  power  and  au- 
thority unto  the  Church.  And  if  thou  art  led  at  any 
time  by  the  Comforter  to  speak  or  teach,  or  at  all  times 


176  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

by  the  way  of  commandment  unto  the  Church,  thou 
mayest  do  it ;  but  thou  shalt  not  write  by  way  of  com- 
mandment, but  by  wisdom.  And  thou  shalt  not  com- 
mand him  who  is  at  thy  head,  and  at  the  head  of  the 
Church ;  for  I  have  given  him  the  keys  of  the  mysteries, 
and  the  revelations,  which  are  sealed,  until  I  shall  ap- 
point unto  them  another  in  his  stead."  (Doctrines 
and  Covenants,  p.  272.) 

The  Church  assemble  in  conference  every  half  year, 
and  go  through  with  the  ceremony  of  re-electing  the 
prophet  as  president  of  the  Church ;  but  this  is  the 
merest  formality  in  the  world,  as  nobody  dreams  of 
trying  to  reverse  the  Lord's  appointment.  Like  the 
parishioners  of  Knocktarlittie,  who  always  elected  the 
candidate  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  the  Saints  are  equal- 
ly ready  to  ratify  the  nomination  of  the  celestial  cau- 
cus. 

By  reason  of  these  exalted  gifts,  the  president,  in 
fact,  controls  and  governs  the  whole  Church,  the  sev-v 
eral  quorums  being  the  mere  instruments  of  his  will. 
The  government  of  the  Mormons  has,  therefore,  from 
tlie  beginning,  been  a  species  of  absolute  theocracy,  or 
very  nearly  so.  This  absolutism  has  been  preserved 
by  various  expedients,  as  the  putting  forth  of  revela- 
tions from  time  to  time,  the  performance  of  miracles 
by  healing  the  sick,  preaching  in  unknown  tongues, 
and  other  forms  of  popular  imposition ;  keeping  up  a 
prying  system  of  espionage ;  sending  off  turbulent  spir- 
its on  distant  missions ;  and,  more  especially,  the  ab- 
sorption of  nearly  all  the  wealth  of  the  members,  un- 
der an  improved  system  of  tithing  and  other  forms  of 
ecclesiastical  appropriation.  Some  idea  of  the  power 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  ^77 

claimed  by  and  for  the  reigning  prophet  may  be  gath- 
ered from  their  own  statements. 

"  Who  gives  me  power  that, <  at  the  pointing  of  my 
finger,'  the  hosts  of  Israel  move,  and  at  my  request 
the  inhabitants  of  this  great  territory  are  displaced  ? 
that  at  my  command  they  are  here  ?  Who  gives  me 
that  power  ?  Let  the  world  inquire.  It  is  the  God  of 
heaven ;  it  is  the  Spirit  of  the  holy  Gospel ;  it  is  not 
of  myself;  it  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  trying  to  save 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth."  (Remarks  of  Brigham 
Young,  Deseret  News,  August  26th,  1852.) 

"  When  God  calls  a  man  to  preside,  he  gives  him 
wisdom  to  preside,  so  heap  the  balance  on  to  me."  "  I 
have  not  the  least  fear  of  any  division  in  this  Church, 
for  I  can  turn  them  whithersoever  I  will,  Amen." 
(Same,  Deseret  News,  November  6th,  1852.) 

"  Jesus  sought  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heav- 
en ;  so  it  was  our  duty  to  do  the  will  of  Joseph ;  and 
now  it  is  the  duty  of  us  all  to  do  the  will  of  Brother 
Brigham,  for  he  reveals  to  us  the  will  of  God,  which 
is  his  will.  We  will  do  his  will  as  an  elder,  as  a  proph- 
et, as  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  holding  the  same  keys 
that  Peter  of  old  held,  the  same  that  Joseph  Smith 
held  as  an  apostle.  You  all  believe  this,  don't  you, 
without  an  exception  ?  Well,  if  this  is  your  faith,  if 
this  is  your  determination,  I  want  you  should  manifest 
it  by  raising  your  right  hands,  and  saying  AY.  [A 
literal  forest  of  hands  was  the  result  of  this  call,  and 
the  spacious  hall  trembled  when  a  simultaneous  *  ay' 
burst  from  the  mouths  of  over  2000  persons.]  There  it 
is,  and  it  can  not  be  any  other  way."  ( Speech  of  Eld. 
Kimball,  Des.  News  extra,  Sept.  Uth,  1852,  p.  1,  2.) 
H2 


178  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

Those  turbulent  and  ambitious  spirits  who  are  rest- 
ive under  superior  authority,  human  or  divine,  are  gen- 
erally disposed  of  by  sending  them  as  missionaries  into 
foreign  countries ;  and  as  the  most  troublesome  of 
these  are  from  the  United  States,  there  is  not  the  same 
effort  as  formerly  to  make  converts  in  this  country. 
Of  the  eighty  missionaries  sent  away  in  the  fall  of 
1852,  only  three  were  sent  to  the  States — one  to  Tex- 
as, one  to  "Washington,  and  one  to  St.  Louis ;  the  last 
two  being  rather  intended  as  resident  agents  than  mis- 
sionaries. It  has  been  found  that  the  English  labor- 
ing classes  are  more  amenable  to  authority,  and  sub- 
mit more  quietly  to  tithing  and  other  burdens,  and  are 
less  startled  at  the  innovations  upon  the  common  rules 
of  morality,  than  the  more  astute,  enterprising,  and 
self-reliant  Yankee.  And  as  the  South  Sea  Islanders 
and  Chinese  are  supposed  to  be  exceedingly  plastic  on 
all  these  points,  so  important  to  the  welfare  of  Mor- 
mondom,  considerable  efforts  have  been  made  to  make 
proselytes  among  them. 

Tithing,  in  the  Mormon  hierarchy,  is  a  regular  sys- 
tem of  the  appropriation  of  the  mass  of  individual  prop- 
erty for  the  support  and  aggrandizement  of  the  proph- 
et and  his  priesthood.  In  the  Jewish  Church  it  was 
the  devotion  of  a  tenth  of  the  increase  to  sacerdotal 
purposes.  We  shall  see  how  much  the  system  has 
been  improved  upon  by  the  modern  prophet  and  his  co- 
adjutors. By  a  revelation  of  February,  1831,  Smith 
discovered  that  those  having  property  should  convey  it 
to  the  bishop  and  his  counselors  for  the  support  of  the 
poor,  for  the  purchase  of  lands  for  the  public  benefit  of 
the  Church,  and  building  of  houses  of  worship,  &c. 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


In  August,  1831,  it  was  revealed  that  "  all  the  mon- 
eys which  can  be  spared,  it  mattereth  not  whether  it 
be  little  or  much,  be  sent  up  unto  the  land  of  Zion, 
unto  them  whom  I  have  appointed  to  receive." 

In  July,  1838,  this  important  branch  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation assumed  a  more  definite  shape  as  follows  : 

"  In  answer  to  the  question,  0  Lord,  show  unto  thy 
servants  how  much  thou  requirest  of  the  properties  for 
a  tithing  ? 

"  1.  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  require  all  their 
surplus  property  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop 
of  my  Church  of  Zion,  for  the  building  of  mine  house, 
and  for  the  laying  the  foundation  of  Zion,  and  for  the 
priesthood,  and  for  the  debts  of  the  presidency  of  my 
Church  ;  and  this  shall  be  the  beginning  of  the  tithing 
of  my  people  ;  and  after  that,  those  who  have  been  thus 
tithed  shall  pay  one  tenth  of  all  their  interest  annually, 
and  this  shall  be  a  standing  law  unto  them  forever,  for 
my  holy  priesthood,  saith  the  Lord. 

"  2.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  all  those  who  gather  unto  the  land  of  Zion  shall 
be  tithed  of  their  surplus  properties,  and  shall  observe 
this  law,  or  they  shall  not  be  found  worthy  to  abide 
among  you."  (Doctrines  and  Covenants,  p.  430.) 

The  key  of  this  riddle  very  much  depended  on  the 
true  meaning  of  the  words  "  surplus  properties  ;"  and 
as  the  point  has  been  construed  by  those  whose  pock- 
ets were  to  be  replenished  from  this  source,  it  has  been 
found  to  signify  the  complete  stripping  of  the  Latter- 
day  dupe  of  nearly  all  his  available  means.  On  this 
subject,  Elder  Phelps,  at  the  September  Conference, 
1851,  discoursed  as  follows  : 


180  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

"  I  stand  before  you  to  address  you  on  one  of  the 
most  important  acts  of  life  that  tends  to  salvation. 
Pay  your  tithing.  Yes,  from  this  day,  and  from  this 
place,  let  every  elder  of  Israel  carry  this  glad  tidings 
with  the  Gospel  of  repentance,  that  all  that  pay  their 
tithing  shall  not  be  burned,  if  they  obey  the  ordinan- 
ces of  the  Lord.  Let  every  elder,  as  soon  as  a  convert 
to  the  truth  of  Jehovah  is  washed  from  his  sins,  teach 
this  standing  law."  Here  he  quotes  the  above  revela- 
tion, and  then  proceeds  thus :  "  This  is  plain  language  ; 
all  the  '  surplus  property'  of  a  Saint  belongs  to  the 
Lord,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints.  Then,  if  an  elder  baptizes  a  per- 
son worth  $10,000,  and  he  only  needs  $5000  to  bring 
him  and  his  family  to  the  valley,  and  situate  himself 
with  a  house  and  farm,  and  the  necessary  appendages 
to  obtain  his  living,  $5000  is  the  amount  of  his  sur- 
plus property  to  be  consecrated  to  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
So  with  the  man  worth  $100,000,  that  needs  only 
$10,000  for  himself,  $90,000  belongs  to  the  Lord,  or 
to  the  Church  for  the  public  works,  as  directed  by  the 
presidency.  What  next?  In  the  first  case  of  the 
$5000  for  individual  benefit,  that  comes  under  the 
head  of  <  interest'  to  be  tithed  annually,  and  actually 
means  my  portion,  my  part  or  lot,  and  is  the  '  in- 
crease.' Grain,  hay,  cattle,  swine,  stock  of  every  de- 
scription, poultry,  fruit,  yea,  every  thing  animal  or  veg- 
etable, together  with  all  the  time  not  employed  in  pro- 
ducing these  commodities,  are  to  be  tithed  annually 
while  the  Saints  occupy  the  earth  in  the  flesh.  If  he 
has  no  property,  and  is  sound  in  body,  then  every  tenth 
labor-day  belongs  to  the  Lord."  (Deseret  Almanac, 
1852.) 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


How  much  a  man  needs  for  himself  is  a  question  to 
be  decided  by  "  council  ;"  in  other  words,  by  the  reign- 
ing prophet,  who,  being  guided  by  revelation,  can  not 
err.  If  all  is  taken,  he  has  no  right  to  complain,  be- 
cause it  is  revealed  to  the  prophet  that  property  is  an 
injury  to  him,  and  he  promotes  his  temporal  and  fu- 
ture welfare  by  taking  it  from  him.  All  good  Saints 
bear  this  denuding  process  with  exemplary  patience. 
The  discontented  are  made  to  feel  the  ten  thousand 
annoyances  which  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
in  a  community  so  secluded  and  so  organized  ;  and  if 
they  prove  too  refractory,  they  are  handed  over  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  Danites. 

This  system  of  plucking,  under  one  pretext  or  an- 
other, has  been  a  distinguishing  trait  of  Mormonism 
from  its  commencement.  Any  number  of  cases  are 
related  at  Salt  Lake  City,  a  few  of  which  will  suffice 
for  the  present  purpose. 

A  woman  by  the  name  of  Vienna  Jaques  —  a  square- 
built,  angular  Yankee,  claiming  to  be  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  John  Rogers,  of  Smithfield  memory  —  was  a  res- 
ident of  the  city  of  notions,  when  she  was  made  a 
hopeless  captive  by  one  of  the  earliest  Mormon  mis- 
sionaries. She  "  gathered"  as  in  duty  bound,  at  Kirt- 
land,  then  one  of  Zion's  stakes,  with  her  little  fortune, 
consisting  of  about  $1500  in  ready  money.  The  proph- 
et Joseph  was,  of  course,  always  in  want  of  money  ; 
and,  like  the  sink  of  Mary's  River,  which  absorbs  the 
confluent  waters,  had  a  ready  skill  in  extracting  from 
his  followers  both  moieties  of  their  goods  and  chattels. 
In  due  time,  the  treasures  of  Sister  Vienna  were  trans- 
ferred to  Joseph's  coffers,  and  she  became  his  creditor, 


182  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

and  enjoyed  the  superior  unction  of  becoming  a  resi- 
dent in  his  family.  He,  however,  tired  of  her  pres- 
ence, and  unceremoniously  got  rid  of  her  and  the  debt 
too  by  one  of  those  celestial  responses  which  never 
failed  him  in  time  of  need.  The  divine  rescript  ran  as 
follows : 

"  And  again,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  it  is  my 
will  that  my  handmaid,  Vienna  Jaques,  should  receive 
money  to  bear  her  expenses,  and  go  up  unto  the  land 
of  Zion ;  and  the  residue  of  the  money  may  be  conse- 
crated unto  me,  and  she  be  rewarded  in  mine  own  due 
time.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  it  is  meet  in  mine 
eyes  that  she  should  go  up  unto  the  land  of  Zion,  and 
receive  an  inheritance  from  the  hand  of  the  bishop, 
that  she  may  settle  down  in  peace,  inasmuch  as  she  is 
faithful,  and  not  be  idle  in  her  days  from  thenceforth." 
(Doctrines  and  Covenants,  p.  332.) 

Vienna,  in  obedience  to  this  command,  straightway 
gathered  with  the  Saints  in  Missouri;  and,  as  her 
health  was  good,  and  her  habits  industrious,  she  man- 
aged to  gain  a  livelihood.  She  has  since  followed  the 
fortunes  of  the  Saints  in  all  their  varying  phases,  and 
is  now  industriously  earning  her  living  as  a  nurse  at 
Salt  Lake  City — proud  that  her  means  have  been  de- 
voted to  Joseph's  use— doubly  proud  that  she  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  a  revelation  from  heaven,  and  ready 
to  do  vigorous  battle  with  any  one  who  ventures  to  in- 
timate that  the  whole  concern  is  a  veritable  humbug. 

The  case  of  Captain  R****!  attracted  some  attention 
in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1853.  This  gentleman 
had  been  a  sea-captain,  was  a  resident  of  one  of  the 
British  North  American  provinces,  and  had  amassed  a 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


large  fortune.  His  mind,  being  afloat  on  religious  sub- 
jects, was  excited  with  the  idea  that  the  last  days  were 
at  hand,  and  that  the  Latter-day  Saints  enjoyed  open 
communication  with  heaven,  through  the  medium  of 
their  prophet.  So  rich  a  galleon  was  a  tempting  prize 
for  missionary  privateering;  and  a  few  extra  broad- 
sides, in  the  shape  of  miracles,  and  other  et  cetera,  re- 
duced the  gallant  captain  to  submission.  Among  the 
many  inducements  held  out  for  his  gathering  with  the 
Saints  was,  that  a  project  was  on  foot  to  establish  the 
business  of  manufacturing  sugar  from  the  beet  root, 
on  a  large  scale,  in  the  valley,  which  would  furnish  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  the  profitable  investment  of 
his  capital.  Seduced  by  these  representations,  he  was 
induced  to  make  heavy  advances  for  the  purchase  and 
transportation  of  the  sugar  machinery,  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  to  have  a  joint-stock  interest  in 
the  concern,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  invested.  His 
advances  are  said  to  have  amounted  to  over  $20,000. 
He  repaired  to  the  valley  in  the  fall  of  1852,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  gathering  with  the  Saints,  and  look- 
ing after  his  interest  in  the  sugar  business.  The  ma- 
chinery came,  too,  but  was  unceremoniously  turned 
into  the  public  works  as  the  property  of  the  Church  ; 
and  the  captain  was  given  to  understand  that,  instead 
of  making  himself  the  member  of  a  joint-stock  com- 
pany, he  had  only  obeyed  a  law  of  tithing,  which  re- 
quired an  appropriation  of  his  "  surplus  properties" 
This  did  not  at  first  satisfy  him,  and  it  was  generally 
understood  that  he  would  leave  the  valley  in  the  spring 
in  disgust  ;  but,  as  he  had  other  "  surplus  properties," 
he  was  in  some  way  prevented  from  going  ;  whether 


134  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

by  a  revelation  to  suit  his  case,  as  in  the  instance  of 
Sister  Jaques,  or  how,  has  not  been  permitted  to  trans- 
pire. 

A  Mr.  C****d,  an  Englishman  of  fair  fortune,  is  a 
fellow-sufferer  in  the  sugar  business,  and  is  understood 
to  have  advanced  large  sums;  but  he  is  in  a  much 
more  disagreeable  fix.  In  an  unguarded  moment,  he 
was  seduced  to  enter  more  deeply  into  the  mysteries 
and  privileges  of  the  Saints  by  taking  a  wife.  This, 
however,  would  not  be  worthy  of  notice,  were  it  not 
for  the  material  fact,  that  he  has  a  wife  living  in  Eng- 
land, where  there  are  sharp  laws  against  bigamy.  He 
is  from  henceforth  as  helpless  a  prisoner  at  Salt  Lake 
as  the  poor  whale  stranded  upon  the  beach,  which  can 
neither  fight  nor  swim. 

A  large  building  has  been  erected  at  the  capital  for 
a  tithing-office,  in  which  one  tenth  of  the  grain,  beef, 
pork,  butter,  and  every  other  product  of  labor,  is  re- 
ceived and  stored ;  and  in  the  same  building  are  kept 
accounts  with  every  member  of  the  Church,  in  which 
the  amount  of  the  produce  of  each  one  is  carefully  as- 
certained, and  he  is  charged  with  one  tenth  of  every 
thing,  including  his  labor,  and  credited  with  what  he 
pays.  Branch  offices  are  kept  at  the  principal  villages 
and  settlements,  from  which  reports  are  made.  In  this 
manner  the  presiding  prophet  is  kept  perfectly  posted 
up,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  each  one,  but  made  speedily  aware  of  the  growth 
and  extent  of  any  sentiments  of  disloyalty  to  the  Mor- 
mon rule. 

This  complete  reduction  of  all  its  parts  to  a  depend- 
ence on  its  head  runs  through  all  the  ramifications  of 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


the  Mormon  hierarchy,  and  probably  forms  a  more  per- 
fect blending  of  Church  and  State  than  the  world  has 
ever  yet  seen.  The  temporal  affairs  of  the  community 
and  all  its  members  are  governed  by  its  ecclesiastical 
organization,  which,  in  practice,  is  absolute,  stern,  un- 
relenting, and  cruel.  A  Saint  can  neither  marry,  or 
get  divorced,  or  sell  his  property,  or  successfully  trans- 
act business,  or  leave  the  Great  Basin,  without  the 
consent  or  against  the  advice  of  "  council"  The  laws 
of  Japan  are  not  more  minute  and  searching  in  their 
operations. 


CHAPTER  XL 

GOVERNMENT. 

Legislative  Assembly. — Governor's  Message,  1852. — Legislation  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Church. — No  Freedom  of  the  Ballot-box. — Crimes.1 — • 
Murder  of  Hatch.  —  Case  of  Goodyear. — Joe  Bankhead. — Better 
Treatment  of  Emigrants. — Thieving. — Different  Classes  of  Mormons. 

THE  Territory  of  Utah  is  organized  as  such  under  an 
act  of  Congress,  and,  theoretically  at  least,  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  applicable  to  territories  are  therein 
administered.  Under  the  organic  act,  a  Legislative  As- 
sembly was  elected  in  the  summer  of  1851,  and  held  a 
session  in  the  following  autumn  and  winter.  At  this 
session  they  passed  a  small  body  of  laws,  embracing 
the  usual  range  of  legislative  action — the  organization 
of  the  courts  of  justice  —  the  punishment  of  crime 
(except  bigamy] — the  administration  of  estates — the 
incorporation  of  cities — the  construction  of  roads  and 
bridges — the  training  of  the  militia,  &c.,  &c. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


Legislative  action,  both  in  form  and  substance,  is 
not  very  dissimilar  from  those  of  other  territories,  ex- 
cept that  it  is  obviously  controlled  by  the  Church.  The 
second  Legislative  Assembly  met  on  the  13th  of  De- 
cember, at  the  Council  House.  This  building  was 
originally  erected  for  Church  purposes,  but  has  been 
purchased  by  the  Territory,  and  is  now  used  as  a  State 
House,  library,  &c.  The  Legislative  Assembly  is  di- 
vided into  the  Council  or  Upper  House,  consisting  of 
thirteen  members,  and  the  House  of  Representatives, 
of  twenty-six  members.  After  the  organization  of  the 
two  houses,  they  came  together  in  joint  session  to  re- 
ceive the  Governor's  message.  The  Governor,  on  be- 
ing notified  of  the  hour,  came  in,  and  was  seated  in 
the  speaker's  chair.  On  being  asked  if  he  had  any 
communication  to  make,  he  handed  his  message  to  the 
president  of  the  Council,  who  handed  it  to  the  clerk 
of  the  House,  and  the  same  was  read.  The  message 
is  much  longer  than  necessary  for  the  amount  of  mat- 
ter contained  in  it,  and,  as  a  literary  production,  is  open 
to  criticism.  Take  the  following  ambitious  gem  as  a 
sample  : 

"  Hence,  also,  the  fanatical  bigot,  with  the  spirit  of 
Northern  supremacy,  seeks  to  enwrap  with  sacrilegious 
flame  the  altar  of  his  country's  liberties,  offering  an 
unholy  sacrifice,  which,  arising  in  encircling  wreaths  of 
dark  and  turbid  columns,  emitting,  in  fitful  glare,  the 
burning  lava,  betokens  erewhile  her  consummation." 

His  excellency  must  have  lapsed  suddenly  into  his 
ecstatic  state  as  a  seer  when  he  penned  this  "  turbid" 
prophecy. 

In  reference,  however,  to  the  practical  sense  and 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


wisdom  of  the  most  of  its  suggestions,  it  is  a  creditable 
document.  He  calls  the  attention  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  to  the  most  important  points  of  interest,  such 
as  making  ferries  and  bridges  over  the  principal  rivers  ; 
promoting  the  working  of  the  iron  and  coal  mines  in 
Iron  county  ;  encouraging  domestic  manufactures  in 
all  its  branches  ;  the  necessity  of  simplicity  and  precis- 
ion in  legislation,  and  certainty  in  the  administration 
of  the  laws  ;  and  the  importance  of  education.  He  is 
severe  on  California  and  her  gold  ;  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  his  Mormon  excellency  has  had  a  diffi- 
cult task  to  keep  his  flock  together  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  great  El  Dorado.  He  raps  Congress  soundly  over 
the  knuckles  for  President-making,  and  paying  the 
Utah  officers  so  shabbily.  This  may  seem  in  bad  taste 
for  a  mere  territory,  but  the  Governor  claims  that  she 
is  "  a  part  of  the  grand  confederacy  which  has  so  long 
embellished  the  national  galaxy  ;"  so  there  is  no  more 
to  be  said. 

In  two  or  three  days  after  the  organization  of  the 
two  houses,  the  Governor  made  a  speech  to  them  in 
joint  session,  in  reference  to  their  mode  of  doing  busi- 
ness. This  was  deemed  of  so  much  importance,  that 
one  hundred  copies  were  ordered  to  be  printed  for  the 
use  of  the  members.  Here  it  is  verbatim  : 

"  Previous  to  opening  the  business  to  be  considered 
by  this  Assembly,  and  as  all  the  members  are  not  pres- 
ent, I  wish  to  offer  a  few  words  for  your  guidance  as 
members  of  a  law-making  department.  Men  who  are 
not  capable  of  governing  themselves  —  of  behaving 
themselves  as  gentlemen  ought  to  behave,  are  utterly 
unprepared  to  make  laws  for  others.  If  you  will  look 


188  UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS. 

upon  Congressional  practices,  it  is  plain  that  printed 
rules  for  the  government  of  legislative  bodies  have 
been  the  most  fruitful  source  of  vexatious  debate  and 
shameful  strife.  The  second  reading  of  an  act  by  sec- 
tions is  now  to  be  brought  before  this  assembly.  We 
would  like  to  hear  any  objections  that  can  be  made  to 
this  act,  or  to  any  part  of  it ;  which  objections  must 
be  made  at  the  time  the  section  is  read,  so  that,  in  the 
third  reading,  the  bill  may  not  be  delayed  in  its  pas- 
sage. Find  no  fault  until  you  can  make  a  motion  for 
the  betterment  of  the  bill  or  section.  If  you  can  not 
improve  it,  let  it  alone  until  you  can." 

The  result  of  these  "few  words  for  your  guidance" 
was,  that  the  Legislative  Assembly  ceased  all  further 
talk  about  rules,  and  went  through  the  session  without 
them.  Nor  did  this  instance  of  executive  interference 
strike  any  one  of  the  members  as  extraordinary  or 
improper.  All  legislation,  in  fact,  proceeds  from  the 
Church — or,  more  properly,  from  Brigham  Young,  who 
is  at  the  head  of  the  Church.  The  passage  of  an  act 
against  his  known  wishes  would,  in  Utah,  be  considered 
an  idea  altogether  too  preposterous  to  be  for  a  moment 
entertained ;  and  such  must  continue  to  be  the  case, 
so  long  as  the  Church  is  the  controlling  power  in  the 
Territory.  In  such  a  community,  legislation  and  the 
administration  of  the  laws  have  no  force  or  vigor,  ex- 
cept so  far  as  they  harmonize  with  its  ecclesiastical 
policy.  They  are  forms,  but  forms  without  life,  except 
such  as  is  breathed  into  it  by  the  prophet  of  the  Lord. 
Their  forms  and  proceedings  are  convenient  enough  in 
cases  and  controversies  where  there  is  no  particular  in- 
terest or  policy  to  thwart  their  operation,  and  a  snug 


UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS. 


little  fund  is  annually  drawn  from  the  national  treas- 
ury to  defray  the  expenses.  The  Governor,  and  the 
secretary,  and  the  judges,  and  the  public  prosecutor, 
and  the  marshal,  are  all  there  in  solemn  array,  like 
wax  figures  in  a  museum  ;  and  legislators  hold  their 
sessions  —  and  courts  are  organized  —  and  grand  juries 
are  charged  to  be  vigilant  in  presenting  the  criminal 
for  trial.  But,  notwithstanding  all  this  imposing  ma- 
chinery, neither  life  nor  property  is  any  the  more  secure 
from  the  hatred  or  grasp  of  the  Church.  That  is  above 
law,  and  controls  the  consciences  and  acts  of  its  mem- 
bers at  will. 

The  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  are  elect- 
ed by  the  people  ;  but  the  nominees  of  the  Church  are 
sure  to  be  chosen.  To  render  assurance  doubly  sure 
on  this  point,  the  following  curious  provisions  are  em- 
bodied in  the  act  regulating  elections,  passed  January 
3,  1853  : 

"Sec.  5.  Each  elector  shall  provide  himself  with  a 
vote,  containing  the  names  of  the  persons  he  wishes 
elected,  and  the  offices  he  would  have  them  to  fill,  and 
present  it,  neatly  folded,  to  the  judge  of  the  election, 
who  shall  number  and  deposit  it  in  the  ballot-box.  The 
clerk  shall  then  write  the  name  of  the  elector,  and  op- 
posite it  the  number  of  his  vote. 

"Sec.  6.  At  the  close  of  the  election,  the  judge  shall 
seal  up  the  ballot-box,  and  the  list  of  the  names  of  the 
electors,  and  transmit  the  same,  without  delay,  to  the 
county  clerk." 

By  this  ingenious  contrivance,  it  is  known  whom 
each  elector  votes  for,  and  the  dangers  of  a  free  exer- 
cise of  the  rights  of  suffrage  averted. 


1QO  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

In  a  territory  so  governed,  it  will  not  excite  surprise 
that  cases  of  extortion,  robbery,  murder,  and  other 
crimes,  should  occur,  and  defy  all  legal  redress ;  or 
that  the  law  itself  should  be  made  the  instrument  of 
crime.  No  one  can  be  long  a  sojourner  at  Salt  Lake 
City  without  hearing  of  persons  mysteriously  disappear- 
ing ;  of  Missourians,  supposed  to  have  been  engaged  in 
the  mobs  in  Jackson  county,  being  decoyed  into  can- 
ons, and  ruthlessly  dispatched.  These  he  would  be 
inclined  to  treat  as  bugbear  stories,  unless  confirmed 
by  his  own  observation,  or  his  previous  knowledge  of 
Mormon  history.  The  "  Danites,"  originally  organized 
as  a  species  of  secret  police,  to  execute  the  behests  of 
the  Church — by  whom  suspected  persons  can  be  dealt 
with,  and,  if  need  be,  put  off  out  the  way — are  still  in 
existence,  and  such  and  such  persons  are  frequently 
spoken  of  as  members  of  that  notable  corps.  The  Mor- 
mon hierarchy  has  all  the  efficiency  of  a  secret  society : 
its  members  are  initiated  into  different  degrees ;  take 
oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  Church,  of  vengeance  upon 
their  former  persecutors,  and  of  denunciations  upon 
themselves  in  case  of  apostacy ;  and  have  signs  and 
pass-words  by  which  they  recognize  each  other  in  any 
part  of  the  world.  A  community,  so  banded  together 
by  oaths  of  fanaticism,  combine  a  vast  magazine  of 
the  elements  of  mischief  in  the  hands  of  a  few  design- 
ing men,  and  it  would  be  strange  if  atrocious  crimes 
were  not  sometimes  committed. 

A  case  of  violence  occurred  in  December,  1852,  in 
which  a  mortal  wound  was  inflicted,  affording  a  fair 
illustration  of  the  subject.  Two  men,  by  the  name  of 
Hickman  and  Hatch,  members  of  the  Danite  band, 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


were  noted  for  robberies,  and  many  a  deed  of  reckless 
and  criminal  violence.  Hatch,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
became  sick  of  the  trade,  and  was  supposed  to  have  a 
design  of  leaving  the  valley  :  he  became  a  "  suspected 
person."  These  men  were  one  day  traveling  in  com- 
pany on  horseback,  some  miles  from  the  city,  and  came 
to  one  of  the  creeks  which  pour  down  from  the  mount- 
ains, lined  with  cotton-wood  bushes.  Hatch  plunged 
in  to  cross  over,  and,  while  in  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
received  a  shot  ;  the  bullet  passing  obliquely  through 
his  body,  and  evidently  fired  by  a  person  behind  him 
on  the  bank.  Hickman  immediately  turned  his  horse, 
fled  to  the  city,  and  reported  that  they  had  been  attack- 
ed by  Indians,  and  his  companion  killed.  Hatch,  how- 
ever, had  strength  enough  to  make  his  way  back  to 
the  city,  and  stated  that  he  had  been  shot  by  Hickman  ; 
which  account  of  the  transaction  was  adhered  to  by 
him  and  his  family  for  some  weeks,  until  Hickman 
called  upon,  and  had  a  long  private  interview  with 
him  ;  after  which  the  family  contradicted  the  story, 
and  the  victim  remained  silent  when  questioned  on  the 
subject.  Hatch  died  of  the  wound  in  March,  and  at 
the  last  moment  told  his  physician  that  the  shot  was 
fired  by  Hickman.  The  latter  attended  the  funeral  ; 
and,  while  officiously  engaged  in  filling  up  the  grave, 
the  father  of  the  murdered  man,  under  the  influence 
of  a  sudden  and  uncontrollable  paroxysm  of  vengeance, 
caught  up  a  spade,  and  aimed  a  furious  blow  at  his 
head,  which  must  have  inflicted  a  fatal  wound,  had 
not  his  arm  been  arrested  by  one  of  the  by-standers. 
What  passed  at  the  private  interview  was  only  known 
to  the  two  ;  but  it  was  believed  that  Hickman  then 


192  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

stated  to  his  companion  that  he  had  shot  him  by  com- 
mand of  "  council ;"  and  that  unless  he  and  his  family 
ceased  to  speak  of  it,  some  further  punishment  would 
be  visited  upon  them. 

No  person  at  Salt  Lake  City,  old  enough  to  form  a 
conclusion  from  facts  stated,  ever  for  a  moment  doubt- 
ed of  the  guilt  of  Hickman.  Not  the  first  step,  how- 
ever, was  taken  to  investigate  the  matter  judicially,  or 
to  bring  the  murderer  to  justice.  The  Governor,  and 
the  district  attorney,  and  the  marshal,  were  all  there, 
duly  commissioned  and  clothed  with  power,  and  had 
been  duly  sworn,  too,  to  execute  the  laws ;  but  in  vain. 
Justice  still  sleeps,  nor  is  it  probable  that  her  slum- 
bers will  ever  be  disturbed  in  this  particular  case. 
Hickman  is  still  at  large,  and,  both  before  and  since 
the  death  of  his  victim,  has  been  frequently  seen  in 
that  kind  of  close  and  intimate  relationship  with  the 
Governor  which  is  usual  between  the  principal  and  his 
confidential  agent. 

Of  course,  when  such  serious  crimes  can  be  commit- 
ted with  impunity  or  by  authority,  smaller  ones  can 
not  very  much  shock  the  moral  sense.  Great  com- 
plaints have  been  made  by  emigrants,  from  time  to 
time,  of  the  loss  of  their  animals,  in  which  the  names 
of  some  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  associated. 

In  the  winter  of  1850  and  1851,  a  larger  number  of 
emigrants  than  usual  wintered  at  Salt  Lake.  In  the 
spring,  many  of  them  met  in  Carson's  Valley,  on  their 
way  to  California,  and,  on  comparing  notes,  made  up 
a  grievous  list  of  complaints  against  the  Saints  of  plun- 
der, by  means  more  or  less  direct — some  under  tho 
forms  of  law,  and  some  otherwise — the  most  flagrant 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


of  which  were  published  in  a  pamphlet,  and  verified  by 
the  oaths  of  the  sufferers.  These  statements  being  ex 
parte,  and  set  forth,  doubtless,  with  a  degree  of  ex- 
aggeration natural  to  persons  telling  their  own  story, 
where  smarting  under  a  sense  of  injury,  can  not  be  re- 
garded as  conclusive  proof  upon  the  subject.  But  when 
we  reflect  that  there  has  ever  been  a  lax  morality  in 
their  intercourse  with  the  Gentiles,  which  has  its  foun- 
dation in  their  religious  principles,  we  are  compelled  to 
admit  that  more  cases  of  oppression,  extortion,  and  di- 
rect plunder  have  been  tolerated  among  the  Saints  than 
could  be  in  any  other  civilized  community  on  the  foot- 
stool. 

A  case  occurred  in  1851,  of  some  notoriety,  and 
which  seems  to  be  reasonably  well  authenticated.  A 
man  by  the  name  of  Groodyear,  a  mountaineer,  had  an 
Indian  wife,  and  was  established  on  Ogden  River,  near 
Salt  Lake,  when  the  Mormons  first  came  into  the  val- 
ley. They  bought  out  his  possession  and  improvements, 
and  he  went  to  California.  After  a  time,  he  returned 
with  a  number  of  superior  horses  which  he  had  pur- 
chased, intending  to  sell  them  at  a  profit.  He  left 
sixty  of  these  horses  on  a  range  under  the  charge  of 
one  Hayt,  a  Mormon,  and  went  back  to  California  to 
pursue  the  business,  where  he  died.  "When  news  came 
of  his  death  to  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  letters  of  admin- 
istration were  taken  out  by  two  persons  whose  names 
are  widely  known  in  that  region  in  connection  with 
questionable  transactions,  and  neither  of  whom  were 
related  to  -the  deceased,  or  had  any  claims  against  his 
estate.  Armed  with  these  powers,  these  worthies  took 
possession  of  the  horses,  turned  them  over  on  Antelope 

I 


194  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

Island,  got  up  a  sham  sale,  and  bought  them  in  for  a 
song.  Goodyear 's  brother  went  to  the  Mormon  capital 
in  1851  to  look  after  the  property,  and  called  upon  the 
administrators  to  ascertain  how  matters  stood.  As  it 
was  difficult  to  find  them  together,  they  kept  up  a  game 
of  battledore  with  him  for  some  time,  in  which  he  had 
to  play  the  unfortunate  part  of  the  shuttlecock.  They 
finally  pretended  that  the  mass  of  the  property  had 
been  expended  in  the  expenses  of  administration  and 
in  support  of  the  children.  Groodyear  then  appealed  to 
Brigham  Young ;  but  he  seemed  to  be  very  ignorant 
about  the  transaction,  and,  on  the  whole,  concluded 
that  the  property  ought  to  remain  where  the  children 
were.  He  then  searched  for  the  children,  of  which 
there  were  two,  and  found  them  with  their  grandfather, 
an  old  Indian,  in  a  state  of  great  destitution,  and  that 
not  a  shilling  had  been  expended  for  their  benefit. 
After  much  fruitless  and  vexatious  negotiation,  the 
matter  was  finally  compromised  for  a  small  sum,  about 
$200.  The  horses  were  worth  at  least  $3000.  Was 
the  G-overnor  cognizant  of  this  transaction  ?  Any  one 
acquainted  with  the  thorough  system  and  espionage 
kept  up  in  Utah  could  have  no  doubt  on  the  subject, 
and  he  would  be  exceedingly  verdant  not  to  believe 
that  a  very  liberal  tithing  of  this  plunder  went  into  the 
coffers  of  the  Church. 

Gentiles,  however,  who  reside  and  are  engaged  in 
business  at  Salt  Lake  City,  are  sufficiently  sharp  to 
protect  themselves,  and  they  gain  an  influence  which 
makes  it  comparatively  easy  to  enforce  their  rights.  A 
curious  instance  occurred,  in  which  Holliday  &  Warner, 
a  mercantile  firm,  were  interested.  They  missed  a  num- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


ber  of  cattle  from  a  herd  which  they  were  collecting 
for  the  California  market,  and  managed  to  trace  the 
depredation  to  Joseph  Bankhead,  one  of  the  faithful. 
As  the  most  ready  means  of  recovering  their  property, 
they  laid  the  matter,  with  the  proofs,  before  the  Gov- 
ernor. Brigham  satisfied  himself  of  the  facts,  and  then 
sent  word  to  Bankhead  that  he  wished  to  see  him  on 
important  business.  Joe  repaired,  without  delay,  to 
the  executive  presence,  when  something  like  the  fol- 
lowing amusing  scene  is  said  to  have  occurred.  As 
Joe  entered,  the  Governor  regarded  him  with  a  frown, 
and,  in  a  stern  voice,  thundered  out,  "  Joe  Bankhead  ! 
Joe  Bankhead  !" 

Joe.  "  Why,  Governor,  what  is  the  matter  ?" 

Brigham.  "  Joe  Bankhead,  I  havehad  a  vision  about 
cattle." 

Joe  Bankhead's  body  began  to  perspire  ;  Joe  was 
dreadfully  scared. 

Brigham.  "Joe  Bankhead,  go  instantly  and  pay 
Holliday  &  Warner  for  those  cattle  !  Joe  Bankhead, 
begone  !" 

Joe  retired  chop-fallen,  and  thoroughly  convinced 
that  Brigham  was  a  true  prophet  of  the  Lord.  He  went 
straightway  and  paid  for  the  cattle,  greatly  wondering 
that,  among  his  numerous  peccadilloes,  the  celestial 
councils  should  remain  oblivious  of  all  except  this  tri- 
fling one  against  the  Gentiles,  the  most  venial  of  all 
Mormon  sins.  Had  Holliday  &  Warner  been  mere 
wayfarers,  and  Joe  of  more  conspicuous  standing  in 
the  Church,  it  is  to  be  feared  the  supernal  powers  would 
have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  complaint.  Brigham  is 
usually  very  accessible  in  a  case  like  that  of  Bankhead, 


196  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

because  it  gives  him  influence  with  the  resident  Gren- 
tiles,  and  serves  to  impress  upon  the  superstitious  a  be- 
lief that  he  can  penetrate  their  most  secret  actions,  and 
even  thoughts. 

These  unfortunate  propensities  of  the  Saints,  in  the 
absence  of  Gentiles,  are  often  exercised  upon  each  oth- 
er, something  like  a  collection  of  spiders  made  by  a 
Frenchman  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  silk  from 
the  web,  and  whose  experiment  totally  failed,  because 
the  smaller  ones  fell  a  prey  to  the  ferocity  of  the  lar- 
ger. Under  these  circumstances,  it  becomes  necessary 
at  times  to  put  the  civil  law  in  force,  and  as  there  are 
no  prisons  in  the  territory,  the  convict  is  ordinarily  sen- 
tenced to  work  upon  the  streets,  encumbered  with  a 
ball  and  chain. 

The  emigrants,  too,  are  treated  much  better  than  at 
first.  Their  visits  to  the  valley  have  been  found  of  so 
much  advantage  to  the  Saints,  that  greater  pains  have 
been  taken  to  protect  them  from  the  depredations  of 
the  most  lawless  and  ungovernable.  "We  would  fain 
believe,  also,  that,  as  the  recollection  of  persecutions 
suffered  in  the  States  loses  its  extreme  bitterness  by 
lapse  of  time,  a  kindlier  feeling  is  coming  into  exercise. 
There  certainly  have  been  instances  not  a  few  in 
which  sick  and  worn-down  travelers  have  been  treated 
with  brotherly  kindness,  and  sent  on  their  way  rejoic- 
ing without  fee  or  reward. 

Notwithstanding  every  effort,  however,  whether  civil 
or  ecclesiastical,  thieving  is  lamentably  common,  as 
the  following,  from  a  sermon  preached  by  Brigham, 
published  in  The  Deseret  News,  May  14th,  1853,  will 
show : 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  197 

"  How  many  complaints  have  been  made  to  me  by 
men  who  have  had  their  horses  stolen  out  of  their  sta- 
bles or  out  of  their  corrals ;  or  of  clothes  being  taken 
from  the  line.  The  reason  why  people  lose  their  prop- 
erty is  because  they  do  not  watch  it.  Have  I  ever 
complained  of  any  such  thing  ?  No  !  "Why  ?  Be- 
cause I  watch  my  corral.  Do  I  lose  any  thing  out  of 
my  barn  ?  No  !  Because  I  lock  it  up^  and  keep 
somebody  there  to  watch  it.  Do  I  lose  any  clothing  ? 
Not  that  I  know  of.  I  tell  my  folks  not  to  leave  out 
my  clothing.  *  Why,'  they  ask  ;  '  is  there  any  danger 
of  their  being  stolen  ?'  '  It  is  none  of  your  business  ; 
they  will  not  dry  after  dark ;  therefore  take  them  in, 
and  hang  them  out  again  in  the  morning.'  All  will 
be  peace  here  this  summer  if  you  keep  on  watching." 

If  the  terrors  which  surround  the  name  of  the  proph- 
et of  the  Lord  can  not  protect  his  property  without  the 
aid  of  a  sentinel  at  his  door,  there  would  seem  to  be 
greater  numbers  who  profess  Mormonism  without  sin- 
cere faith  in  its  pretensions  than  has  generally  been 
supposed.  In  what  proportion  the  infidels  stand  to  the 
true  believers,  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate.  The  Mormon 
community  is  curiously  made  up:  it  may  be  divided 
into  four  classes. 

The  first  are  the  leaders,  from  the  prophet  down— 
those  high  in  the  priesthood,  who  are  interested  in 
keeping  up  the  delusion,  because  they  live  upon  the 
ordinary  and  extraordinary  tithing  extracted  from  the 
people.  These,  like  the  conductor,  engineers,  brake- 
men,  and  switch-tenders  on  a  rail- way,  manage  and 
control  the  whole  machinery.  They  get  up  revela- 
tions, perform  sham  miracles,  talk  in  unknown  tongues, 


198  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

and  concoct  among  themselves  the  various  means  and 
modes  of  imposing  upon  popular  credulity.  Not  one 
of  these  have  the  least  faith  in  Latter-day  theology, 
except  as  a  species  of  stock  in  trade,  which  enables 
them  to  thrive  at  the  expense  of  others. 

Second.  Some,  "  leaving  their  country  for  their 
country's  good,"  have  resorted  to  the  new  Zion,  not 
only  because  it  afforded  an  asylum  from  pursuit,  but 
seemed  to  offer  a  safe  field  for  the  indulgence  of  their 
vicious  propensities.  These  have  no  faith  in  any  thing 
except  the  universal  depravity  of  mankind.  They  form 
a  floating  population  :  some  become  leaders  and  rulers 
in  Israel,  and  are  sufficiently  contented ;  others,  not 
succeeding  quite  so  well,  become  discontented,  and 
leave.  In  this  same  class  may  be  included  persons  who 
have  been  unfortunate  in  business  in  the  States,  and, 
finding  themselves  on  the  very  lowest  round  of  the  lad- 
der, gather  with  the  Saints  under  the  deceptive  induce- 
ments held  out  of  being  able  to  better  their  condition. 

Third.  Many  obey  the  call  to  gather  themselves  in 
the  "  tops  of  the  mountains,"  because  they  think  they 
are  Mormons.  They  are  afloat  on  religious  subjects ; 
discontented  with  current  forms  and  creeds  ;  and  cap- 
tivated with  the  ideas  that  the  last  days  are  at  hand, 
and  an  open  communication  permitted  with  heaven. 
These  flock  to  the  new  promised  land,  with  high  hopes 
that  they  have  at  last  found  a  resting-place.  But  when 
they  get  there,  and  gain  some  knowledge  of  the  out- 
rages upon  morality  and  decency  so  openly  practiced, 
they  become  thoroughly  disgusted,  and  seek  every  op- 
portunity to  escape  from  the  dreadful  thraldom  to 
which  they  have  unwittingly  subjected  themselves. 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  jgg 

The  fourth  class  is  made  of  the  Mormons  who  be- 
lieve in  all,  and  are  ready  to  swallow  down  all  the  im- 
provements of  the  system  which  come  from  head-quar- 
ters. They  give  credit  to  every  miracle  performed, 
however  transparent  the  imposition,  and  justify  every 
enormity,  however  wicked,  which  is  practiced  or  sanc- 
tioned by  authority.  These  people  break  up  their  com- 
fortable homes  in  the  States,  brave  the  dangers  and  dif- 
ficulties of  the  great  journey,  settle  down  in  content- 
ment in  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  look  for- 
ward in  confidence  to  the  speedy  wind  up  of  mundane 
things,  and  really  believe  they  constitute  the  grand 
centre  from  which  radiates  all  the  light  by  which  hu- 
manity is  to  be  regenerated.  The  firm  grasp  which 
these  fanatical  notions  have  taken  of  their  minds  is  in- 
conceivable. 

Once,  on  a  brief  visit  to  the  shores  of  Utah  Lake,  I 
met  with  hospitable  treatment  in  a  squalid  hut,  tenant- 
ed by  a  man  and  his  wife  by  the  name  of  Blanchard. 
They  had  been  Presbyterians  in  the  States,  but  becom- 
ing tired  of  a  religion  which  had  become  stationary,  as 
they  termed  it,  and  fascinated  with  the  ideas  of  direct 
communication  with  heaven  through  the  medium  of  a 
prophet,  the  performance  of  miracles  by  duly  author- 
ized apostles,  and  especially  of  the  "  last  days"  being 
at  hand,  they  had  embraced  the  new  faith,  and  bid 
adieu  to  their  old  friends  and  pleasant  home  in  the 
State  of  Connecticut.  The  woman  was  very  voluble, 
and  ready  enough  to  talk  on  all  Mormon  subjects  ex- 
cept polygamy,  and  on  that  she  was  sore.  In  one  con- 
versation with  her,  I  pointed  to  a  lofty  mountain  which 
reared  its  snowy  summit  to  the  sky  within  a  mile  of 


200  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

the  dwelling,  and  asked  her  if  that  would  ever  literal- 
ly subside  into  a  plane.  "  Yes,  indeed,"  was  her  re- 
sponse ;  "I  expect  to  see  that  mountain  literally  made 
low,  for  the  last  days  are  at  hand,  and  the  Bible  says 
that {  every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
made  low,'  and  the  Bible  means  exactly  what  it  says." 
Of  her  sincerity  there  was  no  room  for  doubt. 

This  class  constitutes  about  two  thirds  of  the  entire 
Mormon  community,  and  furnishes  the  reliable  power 
— the  grand  lever — by  which  the  whole  is  governed. 
They  are  generally  industrious  and  honest  to  an  ex- 
emplary degree,  and  manifest  on  ordinary  occasions 
the  kindly  instincts  and  sympathies  of  humanity,  But 
their  fanaticism  renders  them  blind  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  "  council"  for  the  perpetration  of  any  atrocity, 
however  criminal  or  revolting. 

A  community  so  made  up  requires  the  exercise  of 
much  adroitness  and  cunning  to  keep  them  under 
obedient  control,  and  the  wits  of  the  leaders  are  well 
sharpened  in  this  respect.  But,  with  all  the  manage- 
ment and  chicanery  at  their  command,  Mormondom 
has  ever  been  like  a  region  of  moving  sand,  which  loses 
in  a  given  time  on  one  side  as  much  as  it  has  gained 
on  the  other. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  201 


CHAPTER  III. 

DOCTRINES. 

Idea  of  "  Last  Day." — Inspiration  of  Mormon  Apostles. — Doctrines  as 
contained  in  Book  of  "Doctrines  and  Covenants." — Faith  the  con- 
trolling Principle. — Rebellion  of  Lucifer. — Great  Efficacy  of  Bap- 
tism.— Syllabus  of  Doctrines. — Damnation  and  Salvation. 

THE  Mormon  creed  is  a  curious  piece  of  checkered 
and  incongruous  patchwork.  Joseph  Smith,  the  found- 
er, claimed  to  be  the  divinely  authorized  discoverer 
and  translator  of  the  sacred  writings  of  an  ancient  peo- 
ple on  this  continent — alleged  to  have  been  written  on 
golden  plates,  and  reserved  until  these  last  days  for  the 
use  of  "  the  Church  of  Latter-day  Saints"— called  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

The  cardinal  starting-point  of  Mormonism  is,  that 
the  last  days  are  at  hand,  and  that  the  Mormons  are 
Latter -day  Saints.  The  controlling  idea  is,  that  the 
general  judgment  is  to  come  soon ;  by  which  is  not 
meant  an  indefinite  series  of  ages,  but  within  the  life- 
time of  the  present  generation.  As  early  as  January, 
1833,  the  prophet  announced  as  follows : 

"  And  now  I  am  prepared  to  say,  by  the  authority 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that  not  many  years  shall  pass  away 
before  the  United  States  shall  present  such  a  scene  of 
bloodshed  as  has  not  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  our 
nation  ;  pestilence,  hail,  famine,  and  earthquakes  will 
sweep  the  wicked  of  this  generation  from  off  the  face 
of  the  land,  to  open  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  return 
of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  from  the  north  country.  The 

12 


202  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

people  of  the  Lord,  those  who  have  complied  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  new  covenant,  have  already  com- 
menced gathering  together  to  Zion,  which  is  in  the 
State  of  Missouri ;  therefore  I  declare  unto  you  the 
warning  which  the  Lord  has  commanded  me  to  declare 
unto  this  generation,  remembering  that  the  eyes  of  my 
Maker  are  upon  me,  and  that  to  Him  I  am  accounta- 
ble for  every  word  I  say,  wishing  nothing  worse  to  my 
fellow-men  than  their  eternal  salvation ;  therefore,  '  fear 
(rod  and  give  glory  to  Him,  for  the  hour  of  his  judg- 
ment is  come.'  Repent  ye,  repent  ye,  and  embrace 
the  everlasting  covenant,  and  flee  to  Zion  before  the 
overflowing  scourge  overtake  you,  for  there  are  those 
now  living  upon  the  earth  ivhose  eyes  shall  not  be 
closed  in  death  until  they  see  all  these  things  which  I 
have  spoken  fulfilled."  (Times  and  Seasons,  p.  707.) 
The  gathering  of  the  Saints  is  that  they  may  wit- 
ness the  imposing  exhibition  of  the  consummation  of 
all  things,  which,  in  fact,  is  to  be  got  up  for  their  ex- 
clusive benefit.  Under  this  leading  idea,  the  true  be- 
liever leaves  a  comfortable  home  in  the  States,  en- 
dures privations  and  encounters  danger  in  the  long  and 
weary  travel  to  Utah,  shelters  himself  in  a  WTetched 
mud  hovel  in  the  Valley  of  Salt,  and  patiently  waits 
for  the  sound  of  the  last  trump.  To  be  sure,  some  die 
on  the  way,  and  some  die  at  the  place  of  gathering, 
but  these  are  only  the  few  decayed  leaves  which  fall 
from  the  tree  in  summer ;  the  mass  of  the  foliage  re- 
mains until  the  autumnal  frosts.  This  is  a  fixed  and 
abiding  idea  in  the  Mormon  mind.  They  have  even 
defined  the  time  to  be  in  or  about  the  year  1870  when 
the  grand  wind-up  is  to  take  place.  Any  other  than  a 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  gQ3 

speedy  period  for  this  catastrophe  would  disperse  the 
Saints  to  the  four  winds.  When  the  time  shall  have 
elapsed  without  the  occurrence  of  this  momentous  dis- 
play in  the  literal  heavens,  it  will  require  a  special 
meeting  of  the  Celestials,  and  a  strong  revelation,  to 
reconcile  them  to  a  postponement. 

Under  the  pressure  of  this  belief,  the  sending  forth 
of  missionaries  is  a  necessity.  The  fanatical  Mormon 
would  not  be  satisfied  unless  he  believed  the  work  of 
conversion  and  gathering  to  be  rapidly  going  on.  No 
inconsiderable  amount  of  their  preaching  is  made  up 
of  reports  from  returned  missionaries,  who  recount  the 
victories  they  have  gained  over  Gentile  adversaries,  the 
miracles  they  have  performed,  and  the  multitudes  they 
have  baptized.  In  March,  1853,  one  Gruard,  a  return- 
ing missionary  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  delivered 
one  of  these  discourses,  in  which  he  claimed  to  have 
baptized  700  natives.  A  Mormon's  statement  is  gen- 
erally to  be  taken  with  many  grains  of  allowance,  es- 
pecially where  there  is  no  chance  for  contradiction ;  and 
if  this  champion  baptized  one  tenth  of  the  number,  it 
was  a  sufficient  foundation  for  the  story ;  but,  whether 
70  or  700,  not  a  dozen  of  them  will  ever  become  mem- 
bers of  the  Latter-day  flock. 

Before  the  eventful  period  arrives,  the  Saints  have  a 
huge  amount  of  business  to  do.  They  have  not  only 
to  gather  in  all  who  are  to  be  made  Saints  among  the 
Gentiles,  but  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  are  to  be  brought 
out  of  the  "  North  country" — somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Sir  John  Franklin — and  all  the  Indians  are 
to  be  converted.  Joseph,  in  1831,  said  by  revelation, 
"  But  before  the  great  day  of  the  Lord  shall  come,  Ja- 


204  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

cob  shall  flourish  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  Lamanitcs 
shall  blossom  as  the  rose."  The  Lamanites  are  In- 
dians, but  they  have  never  blossomed  at  all  under  Mor- 
mon horticulture.  Encouraged  by  the  prophecy,  they 
have  preached  diligently  to  the  sons  of  the  forest  and 
*  the  plains,  and  have  baptized  a  few ;  but  the  Indians 
are  a  wary  race,  and  not  one  convert  has  ever  remain- 
ed steadfast.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  now  in  open 
hostility  with  the  Utahs,  upon  whose  lands  they  have 
encroached  ;  and  Walker,  or  Wachor,  the  chief  of  this 
tribe,  is  their  most  deadly  enemy,  notwithstanding  he 
has  been  purified  by  repeated  baptisms. 

The  Mormon  Church  commenced  with  no  distinct 
faith  or  doctrines,  except  a  belief  in  Smith  as  a  proph- 
et, the  Bible  as  reformed  by  him,  the  authenticity  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  that  the  last  days  were  at 
hand.  Smith's  object  was  to  gather  in  followers  from 
Christendom  ;  and  to  have  rejected  the  Bible  wholly 
would  have  shocked  all  who  place  faith  in  it.  His  plan 
was  rather  a  renovation  than  a  repudiation  of  ancient 
forms — the  Melchisedek  and  Aaronic  priesthood — the 
twelve  apostles — the  seventies,  &c.,  &c. — blending  Ju- 
daism and  Christianity  together  in  this  respect,  and 
claiming  that  out  of  these  forms  there  can  be  no  effi- 
cient administration  in  spiritual  things.  This  exercise 
of  the  gift  of  revelation  has  gone  on  from  one  emer- 
gency to  another,  and  from  one  speculation  to  another 
— a  species  of  sacerdotal  legislation,  each  subsequent 
enactment  repealing  what  is  inconsistent  with  it  in 
previous  statutes — until  the  Book  of  Mormon  has  be- 
come of  minor  authority.  These  Sibylline  leaves  were 
collected  together,  and  published  in  1835,  in  the  Book 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  2Q5 


of  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants,"  and,  as  a  whole,  exhibit 
the  inharmonious  and  contradictory  features  which 
might  reasonably  be  expected  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  they  have  widely  departed 
from  the  only  important  doctrines  contained  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon ;  but  they  claim  that  their  system  is 
progressive.  Says  Brigham  Young :  "  If  he  (an  apos- 
tle) magnifies  his  calling,  his  words  are  the  words  of 
eternal  life  and  salvation  to  those  who  hearken  to  them, 
just  as  much  so  as  any  written  revelations  contained 
in  these  three  books  (Bible,  Book  of  Mormon,  and  Doc- 
trines and  Covenants).  There  is  nothing  contained  in 
these  three  books  that  is  any  more  revelation  than  the 
words  of  an  apostle  that  is  magnifying  his  calling." 
(Deseret  News  extra,  p.  25.) 

If  the  apostle,  under  the  influence  of  this  divine  af- 
flatus, eliminates  nothing  but  what  is  found  in  these 
three  books,  he  makes  no  advance.  Each,  of  course, 
is  ambitious  of  being  found  in  the  ranks  of  this  moving 
array,  and  each,  as  a  medium,  gives  the  hues  and  col- 
orings of  his  own  mind.  The  result  is  precisely  such 
as  might  have  been  anticipated,  and  the  revelations  of 
the  voluptuary,  the  ambitious,  the  crafty,  and  the  vis- 
ionary speculatist,  have  come  forth  laden  with  the  reek- 
ing effluvia  and  murky  hues  of  each  one's  ruling  love. 
There  is  nothing  positively  bad  in  the  Book  of  Mormon 
more  than  in  the  Apocrypha.  It  teaches  Theism,  the 
moral  virtues,  faith,  charity,  the  marriage  of  one  man 
with  one  wife,  and,  withal,  very  pointedly  condemns 
concubinage  and  its  kindred  vices.  The  progressive, 
Saints  have  run  into  pantheism ;  polygamy,  with  its 


206  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

affinities ;  and,  what  is  decidedly  curious,  as  early  as 
1835  they  totally  ignored  charity  as  a  doctrinal  prin- 
ciple, while  they  made  faith  the  beginning,  middle, 
and  end  of  all  religion. 

In  1835,  something  like  a  systematic  statement  of 
doctrines  was  arranged  in  seven  lectures,  by  Sidney 
Rigdon,  which  were  published,  and  form  the  first  part 
of  the  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants."  Every  one  of 
these  lectures  is  headed  "  OF  FAITH."  From  these  lec- 
tures it  appears  that  they  divide  all  theology  into  Faith, 
the  objects  of  faith,  and  the  effects  which  flow  from  it. 

FAITH  is  the  first  great  governing  principle,  which 
has  power,  dominion,  and  authority  over  all  things.  It 
is  the  principle  of  power  in  God  as  well  as  in  man.  By 
it  were  all  things  created ;  without  it,  God  could  not 
have  created  any  thing ;  nor  could  he  uphold  and  gov- 
ern the  universe.  It  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  hu- 
man effort,  and  is  the  only  means  of  man's  salvation. 
God  would  not  have  attempted  to  create  any  thing  un- 
less he  had  had  faith  in  his  power  to  do  it,  and  the 
same  rule  holds  in  regard  to  man. 

Next  comes  the  OBJECTS  of  faith,  and  under  this 
head  they  profess  a  belief  in  the  being  and  attributes 
of  God.  God  is  without  beginning  of  days  or  end  of 
life ;  infinite  and  eternal ;  omnipotent,  omnipresent,  and 
omniscient ;  the  creator  and  upholder  of  all  things,  and 
the  only  living  and  true  God.  (Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants, p.  25,  39,  92,  &c.)  Our  knowledge  of  God  is 
only  traditionary.  Adam  and  Cain  had  personal  inter- 
views with  him,  and  their  knowledge  has  been  handed 
down  to  posterity.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  being 
and  attributes  of  God,  and  faith  in  him,  no  one  could 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  207 

be  saved;  and  in  this  respect  the  Latter-day  Saints 
are  on  an  equality  with  the  Former-day  Saints. 

God  consists  of  a  trinity  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  but  the  supreme  power  belongs  to  the  Father 
and  Son.  Though  the  Holy  Spirit  has  a  nominal  place 
in  this  trinity,  yet,  as  he  seems  to  be  shorn  of  power, 
and  to  act  more  in  the  capacity  of  a  servant,  their  doc- 
trine in  this  respect,  and  at  this  period,  was  rather  a 
duality  than  a  trinity.  (Doctrines  and  Covenants, 
p.  52,  55.) 

God  the  Father  is  a  personage  of  spirit,  and  the  Son 
a  personage  of  body  ;  that  is,  a  body  into  which  he  en- 
tered in  the  natural  world.  The  Son  was  begotten  of 
the  Father,  and  descended,  and  suffered  according  to 
previous  ordination  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
to  be  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  all  who  should  be- 
lieve on  him ;  by  the  efficacy  of  which  the  Saints  are 
to  have  fullness  of  spirit  and  glory. 

It  seems  that  men,  or  rather  their  bodies,  were  not 
created  as  new  beings,  but  as  receptacles  or  "  taber- 
nacles" for  pre-existing  spirits  which  had  been  begot- 
ten in  the  heavens,  and  were  there  as  the  sons  of  God 
who  shouted  for  joy  at  the  creation ;  and  that  it  was  a 
necessary  part  of  the  plan  that  man  should  transgress, 
and  the  body  die,  in  order  that  these  "  sons"  should  be 
furnished  with  resurrection  bodies.  It  does  not  seem 
to  have  occurred  to  the  Creator  to  impose  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  "  tabernacle"  as  a  part  of  the  law  of  crea- 
tion without  disobedience.  However,  the  plan  having 
been  adopted  that  man  should  transgress,  it  became 
necessary  for  some  one  to  offer  an  atonement,  and  a 
council  was  called  to  choose  a  candidate  for  this  mis* 


208  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

sion.  Among  the  celebrated  personages  present  on  this 
memorable  occasion  was  "  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing ;"  the  passage  from  Job,  "  and  Satan  came  also 
among  them,"  being  deemed  sufficient  authority  on 
this  point.  Lucifer  and  the  Son  were  the  two  candi- 
dates presented  to  this  democratic  theocracy  ;  stump 
speeches  were  made ;  and  the  devil  seems  to  have 
made  a  stiff  fight  of  it,  but  was  finally  outvoted. 
"  The  contention  in  heaven  was,  Jesus  said  there  would 
be  certain  souls  that  would  not  be  saved,  and  the  devil 
said  he  could  save  them  all ;  the  grand  council  gave  in 
for  Jesus  Christ ;  so  the  devil  rebelled  against  God  and 
fell,  and  all  who  put  up  their  heads  for  him."  ( Times 
and  Seasons,  p.  616.) 

So  much  ill  blood  was  engendered  by  this  strife,  that 
the  devil  and  his  adherents  were  finally  banished,  and 
their  "  tabernacles"  in  this  world  are  the  negro  race, 
being  cursed  with  a  black  skin.  This,  in  reference  to 
the  election  of  the  Son  and  the  disgrace  of  Lucifer,  is 
a  doctrinal  point,  developed  since  the  publication  of  the 
Book  of  Doctrines  and  Covenants,  and  introduced  here 
for  the  sake  of  the  connection. 

Under  the  objects  of  faith  are  classed  the  works  of 
faith,  by  which  are  understood  those  effected  by  the 
powers  of  the  mind,  instead  of  those  resulting  from 
physical  efforts.  By  faith,  in  this  sense,  every  thing  is 
accomplished  by  God,  angels,  and  men.  "  The  whole 
visible  creation  is  the  effect  of  faith."  "  As  all  visible 
creation  is  the  effect  of  faith,  so  is  salvation  also,"  and 
each  one  is  saved  according  to  the  degree  of  his  faith. 
"  Salvation  consists  in  the  glory,  authority,  majesty, 
power,  and  dominion  which  Jehovah  possesses,  and  in 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  209 

nothing  else,"  and  to  this  same  degree  men  attain  who 
are  saved.  Salvation  "  begins  with  faith,  and  contin- 
ues by  faith ;  and  every  blessing  which  is  obtained  in 
relation  to  it  is  the  effect  of  faith,  whether  it  pertains 
to  this  life  or  that  which  is  to  come."  Faith  brings 
with  it  "  apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  teach- 
ers, gifts,  wisdom,  knowledge,  miracles,  healings, 
tongues,  interpretation  of  tongues,"  &c. 

BAPTISM  is  necessary  to  salvation,  and  is  adminis- 
tered only  by  an  apostle,  and  by  immersion.  Infants 
are  not  baptized,  but  blessed  by  an  elder  by  the  laying 
on  of  hands.  Those  who  believe  and  are  baptized,  re- 
ceive the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  remission  of  sins.  "  It 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  on  as  many  as  ye  shall  bap- 
tize with  water,  ye  shall  lay  your  hands,  and  they 
shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Those  who 
do  not  believe  and  are  not  baptized,  are  damned ;  but 
as  this  would  involve  the  damnation  of  all  those  who 
had  died  without  the  administration  of  this  rite,  bap- 
tisms are  performed  for  them  by  proxy ;  that  is,  a  Saint 
may  be  baptized  for  his  deceased  relatives  or  friends — 
called  "  baptism  for  the  dead" — and  they,  by  this  pro- 
cess, are  released  from  a  state  somewhat  akin  to  Pur- 
gatory. This  kind  of  baptism,  however,  can  only  be 
administered  in  the  Temple. 

Baptism  may  be  said  to  be  the  most  important  of 
the  Latter-day  ordinances.  Without  it,  no  one  can  ba 
saved  ;  with  it,  the  vilest  is  on  the  high  road  to  salva- 
tion. There  would  seem  to  be  an  efficacy  about  it  in 
Mormon  hands  which  partakes  of  the  miraculous.  No 
matter  how  vile  or  filthy  the  applicant,  baptism  wash- 
es him  into  purity  and  comeliness.  A  man  reeking 


210  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

from  the  pot-house  or  the  brothel — the  gambler,  the 
horse-thief,  and  the  counterfeiter — can  have  their  sins 
made  as  wool  by  this  all-powerful  ablution.  Woman, 
too,  comes  within  this  generous  and  comprehensive 
pale  of  salvation.  She  can  be  picked  up  from  the  gut- 
ter of  pollution — selected  out  from  the  third  tier  and 
Five  Points — and  laved  into  respectability  and  purity. 
The  oddity  mentioned  by  Hudibras,  which  was 

"  Whelp'd  without  form,  until  the  dam 
Had  lick'd  it  into  shape  and  frame," 

scarcely  furnishes  a  parallel  to  its  wondrous  trans- 
formations. 

This  efficacy,  too,  has  a  continuando — a  species  of 
perpetuity  perfectly  marvelous.  A  man  or  woman 
may  slide  away  into  former  licenses — the  horse-thief 
may,  in  a  fit  of  forgetfulness,  take  a  valuable  nag  from 
some  careless  emigrant — the  fair  Cyprian  be  a  little 
too  lavish  of  her  favors — when  lo !  these  stray  lambs 
return  again  and  again  to  the  ever-open  fold,  and  are 
washed  into  a  new  regeneration — their  sins  forgotten 
and  forgiven,  and  ready  to  be  forgotten  and  forgiven, 
for  the  seventy  and  seventh  time,  which  I  believe  is 
the  canonical  number  of  times  in  which  they  may 
safely  transgress.  Even  the  sin  of  apostacy,  which,  in 
Mormon  estimation,  is  the  blackest  of  all,  may  be 
whitened  by  this  process ;  and  it  is  related  of  Gladden 
Bishop,  who  claimed  to  stand  in  the  same  relation  to 
Joseph  Smith  that  our  Lord  did  to  John  the  Baptist, 
that  he  was  excommunicated  and  rebaptized  nine 
times,  but  was  finally  cut  off  and  given  over  to  the 
bufFetings  of  Satan  for  one  thousand  years. 

The  SACRAMENT  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  recommend- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


ed  as  expedient,  and  is  administered  by  a  priest  or  el- 
der. "Wine  was  at  first  used,  but  water  afterward  sub- 
stituted, because  none  could  be  obtained  except  of  Gen- 
tile manufacture. 

Subsequently,  to  rebut  the  charges  of  infidelity  and 
heathenism  brought  against  them,  they  published  the 
following  syllabus  of  doctrines  : 

"  We  believe  in  (rod  the  eternal  Father,  and  in  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"We  believe  that  men  will  be  punished  for  their 
own  sins,  and  not  for  Adam's  transgressions. 

"  We  believe  that  through  the  atonement  of  Christ 
all  mankind  may  be  saved,  by  obedience  to  the  laws 
and  ordinances  of  the  Gospel. 

"  We  believe  that  these  ordinances  are,  1st.  Faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  2d.  Repentance  ;  3d.  Bap- 
tism by  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins  ;  4th.  Lay- 
ing on  of  hands  by  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  5th. 
The  Lord's  Supper. 

"  We  believe  that  men  must  be  called  of  God  by  in- 
spiration, and  by  laying  on  of  hands  from  those  who 
are  duly  commissioned  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  ad- 
minister the  ordinances  thereof. 

"  We  believe  in  the  same  organization  that  existed 
in  the  primitive  Church,  viz.,  apostles,  prophets,  pas- 
tors, teachers,  evangelists,  &c. 

"  We  believe  in  the  powers  and  gifts  of  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel,  viz.,  the  gift  of  faith,  discerning  of  spirits, 
prophecy,  revelation,  visions,  healing,  tongues,  and  the 
interpretation  of  tongues,  wisdom,  charity,  brotherly 
love,  &c. 

"  We  believe  in  the  word  of  God  recorded  in  the  Bi- 


212  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ble ;  we  also  believe  the  word  of  God  recorded  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  and  in  all  other  good  books. 

"  We  believe  all  that  God  has  now  revealed,  all  that 
he  does  now  reveal,  and  we  believe  that  he  will  reveal 
many  more  great  and  important  things  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  Messiah's  second  coming. 

"  We  believe  in  the  literal  gathering  of  Israel,  and 
in  the  restoration  of  the  ten  tribes ;  that  Zion  will  be 
established  upon  the  Western  Continent ;  that  Christ 
will  reign  personally  upon  the  earth  a  thousand  years ; 
and  that  the  earth  will  be  renewed,  and  receive  its  par- 
adisiacal glory. 

"We  believe  in  the  literal  resurrection  of  the  body, 
and  that  the  rest  of  the  dead  live  not  again  until  the 
thousand  years  are  expired. 

"  We  claim  the  privilege  of  worshiping  Almighty 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  conscience, 
unmolested,  and  allow  all  men  the  same  privilege,  let 
them  worship  how  or  what  they  may. 

"  We  believe  in  being  subject  to  kings,  queens,  pres- 
idents, rulers  and  magistrates ;  in  obeying,  honoring, 
and  sustaining  the  law. 

"  We  believe  in  being  honest,  true,  chaste,  temper- 
ate, benevolent,  virtuous,  and  upright,  and  in  doing 
good  to  all  men ;  indeed,  we  may  say  that  we  follow 
the  admonitions  of  Paul :  we  6  believe  all  things,'  we 
1  hope  all  things,'  we  have  endured  very  many  things, 
and  hope  to  be  able  to  '  endure  all  things.'  Every  thing 
lovely,  virtuous,  praiseworthy,  and  of  good  report,  we 
seek  after,  looking  forward  '  to  the  recompense  of  re- 
ward.' But  an  idle  or  lazy  person  can  not  be  a  Chris- 
tian, neither  have  salvation.  He  is  a  drone,  and  is  des- 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  213 

tined  to  be  stung  to  death,  and  tumbled  out  of  the 
hive." 

In  this  rudely-fashioned  theological  structure,  faith, 
it  will  be  seen,  is  the  cementing  principle  by  which  it 
is  kept  together.  Faith  is  made  not  only  the  grand 
motive  and  propelling  power,  but  also  the  regulating 
principle — the  modus  operandi — in  divine  and  human 
efforts.  They  seem  to  have  wholly  overlooked  the  fact 
that  man  has  a  will  as  well  as  an  understanding ; 
and  that,  as  he  was  created  in  the  image  and  likeness 
of  God,  we  are  warranted  in  the  belief  that  the  Cre- 
ator possesses  these  faculties  in  infinite  perfection. 
The  will  of  man  is  the  receptacle  of  love,  and  the  un- 
derstanding of  wisdom ;  and  as  the  one  is  the  motive, 
and  the  other  the  regulating  power  of  all  orderly  hu- 
man action,  we  may  see  that  a  union  of  these  two  fac- 
ulties is  absolutely  necessary  to  constitute  humanity. 
And,  looking  from  man  to  his  Maker,  we  may  gain 
some  insight  into  the  laws  which  regulate  the  creation 
and  government  of  the  universe.  Knowing,  too,  that 
man  possesses  these  two  faculties,  and  that  charity  re- 
sides in  the  will,  and  faith  in  the  understanding,  we 
may  learn  why  it  is  that  these  two  doctrinal  principles 
are  so  necessarily  interwoven  into  his  spiritual  being, 
that  to  take  away  one  would  destroy  that  duality  which 
makes  him  human — would,  in  fact,  reduce  him  to  a 
mere  perversion,  which  might  well  be  represented  by 
a  body  with  one  eye,  one  arm,  and  one  leg,  one  lobe  of 
a  brain,  one  half  of  a  nose,  &c. 

The  Saints  have  invented,  or  rather  destroyed,  the 
law  of  human  existence.  They  have  set  up  faith  as 
a  duty  which  controls  all  things,  divine  and  human. 


214  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

Love  is  nothing — wisdom  is  every  thing.  God  and  his 
creatures  have  understandings,  but  no  will — thoughts, 
but  no  affections.  The  cold,  harsh,  icy  inductions  of 
reason,  create,  govern,  and  control  all  things ;  nothing 
moves  in  heaven,  earth,  or  hell  from  the  impulses  of 
affection.  The  only  impulses  in  Mormon  faith  or  prac- 
tice are  those  which  regard  worldly  grandeur,  and  the 
appetites  and  lusts  of  the  flesh.  God  created  all  things 
because  he  had  faith  in  his  power  to  do  it,  not  because 
he  was  actuated  by  the  love  of  producing  happiness : 
it  was  a  question  of  power,  not  of  love.  Man  acts  only 
because  he  believes  he  can  produce  results ;  if  he  did 
not  so  believe,  he  would  make  no  effort.  All  that  is 
said  in  common  parlance  and  in  preaching  about  the 
love  and  tender  mercies  of  God,  are  mere  cant  and 
unmeaning  phrases  by  the  side  of  the  freezing  dogma 
of  faith  so  distinctly  set  forth.  We  may  as  soon  ex- 
pect the  snow-capped  mountains  which  surround  the 
seat  of  Mormon  power  to  be  clothed  with  the  verdure 
of  spring,  as  look  for  the  vegetation  and  growth  of  a 
single  spiritual  principle  from  such  a  creed. 

At  first,  their  notions  of  hell  were  not  very  well  de- 
fined. They  scouted  the  idea  of  "  fire  and  brimstone," 
notwithstanding  their  literalism,  on  the  ground  that  the 
bodies  of  the  damned,  being  material,  must  necessarily 
be  consumed  in  such  a  furnace.  In  reference  to  the 
duration  of  punishment,  some  curious  ideas  have  been 
evolved.  The  question  was  once  put  to  Joseph,  by  a 
Universalist,  upon  this  point,  and  was  answered  by  a 
quibbling  revelation  in  the  following  formula  : 

"  Eternal  punishment  is  >  Endless  punishment  is 
God's  punishment.     >      God's  punishment." 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


By  the  same  revelation,  it  appears  that  the  terms  eter- 
nal and  endless  are  used  because  God  is  eternal  and 
endless,  and  not  in  reference  to  the  duration  of  the 
punishment;  that  punishment  for  a  limited  period  is 
eternal  and  endless,  because  (rod  inflicts  it.  The  Lord 
was  condescending  enough  to  inform  the  prophet  that 
it  was  written  "  eternal  damnation,  that  it  might  work 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men,"  for  the  sake 
of  his  glory.  "Whether  the  Universalist,  so  skillfully 
angled  for,  was  caught,  does  not  appear. 

In  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  punishment,  the  most 
definite  idea  seems  to  be,  that  those  who  come  short 
of  salvation  are  deprived  of  their  external  bodies,  sep- 
arated from  their  friends,  and  imprisoned.  In  this  con- 
dition, as  "  the  spirits  in  prison,"  they  are  preached  to, 
and  have  a  chance  to  repent,  and,  if  they  do,  can  enter 
again  into  earthly  tabernacles,  and  try  once  more  for  a 
kingdom.  Every  sinner,  therefore,  has  more  than  one 
chance  ;  he  can  run  the  gauntlet  of  an  earthly  taber- 
nacle as  many  times  as  he  chooses  to  repent  in  this 
infernal  prison-house. 

The  prophet,  however,  was  careful,  in  a  subsequent 
revelation,  to  provide  a  more  enduring  hell  for  apos- 
tates. Apostacy  was  discovered  to  be  the  sin  against 
the  Holy  Grhost  which  is  not  to  be  forgiven.  Those 
who  sin  in  this  respect  are  "  they  who  shall  go  away 
into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  with  the  devil  and 
his  angels,  and  the  only  ones  on  whom  the  second 
death  shall  have  any  power  ;  yea,  the  only  ones  who 
shall  not  be  redeemed  in  the  due  time  of  the  Lord  :" 
"they  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment, 
which  is  endless  punishment,  to  reign  with  the  devil 


21(3  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

and  his  angels  to  eternity."  The  devil  and  his  angels 
are  those  who  voted  in  the  minority  at  the  election  be- 
fore referred  to,  and  were  cast  down.  Whether  this 
appendix  to  the  infernal  regions  was  satisfactory  to  the 
Universalist,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing. 

The  salvation,  as  well  as  damnation,  of  the  Saints 
possesses  many  curious  features.  The  grossest  mate- 
rialism will  be  found  to  be  the  underlying  formation 
on  which  the  conglomerated  stratum  rests.  There  are 
three  degrees  of  salvation,  or  glories,  as  they  are  some- 
times called — the  celestial,  terrestrial,  and  telestial, 
corresponding  to  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  The  celes- 
tial is  the  highest,  and  those  who  attain  it  are  to  have 
celestial  bodies,  and  are  the  priests  of  the  order  of  Mel- 
chisedek.  The  terrestrial  is  a  degree  lower.  It  is 
made  up  of  the  "  spirits  in  prison"  who  receive  tho 
Grospel  when  it  is  there  preached  to  them :  these  have 
only  terrestrial  bodies.  The  telestial  is  the  lowest  of 
all,  and  is  made  up  of  those  who  in  the  first  instance 
are  cast  into  hell,  but,  after  roasting  a  while,  are  final- 
ly redeemed  from  the  devil  in  the  last  resurrection. 
These  have  telestial  bodies,  and  occupy,  as  it  were,  the 
basement  story  of  this  singular  theological  edifice. 
The  bodies  for  these  degrees,  though  differently  named, 
all  agree  in  being  material ;  that  being,  according  to 
Mormon  estimation,  the  entire  composition  of  all  things, 
divine,  human,  and  infernal. 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS.  217 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DOCTRINES    CONTINUED. 

Doctrinal  Sermons. — The  Resurrection  Saints  to  have  Farms  and  be- 
come Gods. — Pre-existence  of  Spirits. — Pantheism. — Propagation 
of  Gods. — Holy  Spirit. — Angels. — Materialism. 

IN  the  summer  of  1852,  discourses  were  delivered  by 
Orson  Pratt  and  Brigham  Young,  in  which  some  of 
the  eccentric  features  of  the  Mormon  creed,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  salvation  and  glory  of  the  Saints,  are  dis- 
tinctly set  forth. 

They  believe,  it  appears,  that  by  the  sin  of  Adam 
eating  the  fruit  contrary  to  the  divine  command,  the 
penalty  of  the  death  of  the  body  was  brought  upon  all 
men ;  and  that,  without  any  future  redemption,  the 
soul  and  the  body  would  eternally  lie  in  the  grave. 
The  death  of  Christ,  however,  satisfied  the  original  sin, 
and  by  it  man  will  have  a  resurrection  from  the  grave 
only. 

"  You  will  be  redeemed  from  the  original  sin  with 
no  works  on  your  part  whatever.  Jesus  had  died  to 
redeem  you  from  it,  and  you  are  as  sure  to  be  redeem- 
ed as  you  live  upon  the  face  of  the  earth."  "  If  you 
have  murdered  all  the  days  of  your  life,  and  commit- 
ted all  the  sins  the  devil  would  prompt  you  to  commit, 
you  will  get  a  resurrection— your  spirit  will  be  restored 
to  your  body ;  and  if  Jesus  had  not  come,  all  of  us 
would  have  slumbered  in  the  grave."  (PratPs  Ser- 
mon, Deseret  News,  Aug.  21, 1852.) 

K 


218  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

It  is  the  general  belief  of  Christendom  that  man,  on 
the  dissolution  of  the  body,  must  bid  a  final  adieu  to  his 
earthly  riches.  But  this  forms  no  part  of  the  Mormon 
faith.  After  the  earth  has  been  purified  by  fire,  and 
after  the  resurrection,  each  Saint  is  to  have  a  good 
farm : 

"  0  ye  Saints,  when  you  sleep  in  the  grave,  don't  be 
afraid  that  your  agricultural  pursuits  are  forever  at  an 
end ;  don't  be  fearful  that  you  will  never  get  any  more 
landed  property ;  but  if  you  are  Saints,  be  of  good  cheer ; 
for  when  you  come  up  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, behold,  there  is  a  new  earth,"  &c.  ""We  are 
looking  for  things  in  their  immortal  state,  and  farmers 
will  have  great  farms  upon  the  earth  when  it  is  so 
changed."  (Idem.) 

But  the  sequel  shows  that  the  size  of  these  farms  de- 
pends very  much  upon  the  length  of  time  the  earth 
shall  escape  the  fiery  purification.  If  the  universal 
conflagration  should  happen  to  be  postponed  for  8000 
years,  there  will  have  to  be  close  engineering  to  make 
out  a  decent-sized  lot,  leaving  out  of  the  estimation  salt 
lakes,  deserts,  and  canons. 

"But  don't  be  so  fast,  says  one ;  don't  you  know  that 
there  are  only  about  197,000,000  of  square  miles,  or 
about  126,000,000,000  of  acres  upon  the  surface  of 
the  globe?  Will  these  accommodate  all  the  inhab- 
itants after  the  resurrection  ?  Yes ;  for,  if  the  earth 
should  stand  8000  years,  or  eighty  centuries,  and  the 
population  should  be  a  thousand  million  in  every  cen- 
tury, that  would  be  80,000,000,000  of  inhabitants,  and 
we  know  that  many  centuries  have  passed  that  would 
not  give  the  tenth  part  of  this ;  but  supposing  this  to  be, 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  219 

the  number,  there  would  then  be  over  an  acre,  and  a 
half  for  each  person  upon  the  surface  of  the  globe." 
(Idem.) 

The  wicked,  however,  being  excluded  from  the  prom- 
ises, gives  the  Saint  the  reasonable  expectation  of  a 
good  farm,  even  though  the  earth  should  jog  on  in  the 
old  way  a  little  over  the  time  limited.  Upon  the  as- 
sumption that  one  out  of  a  hundred  is  brought  into  the 
fold,  each  Saint  "  would  receive  over  150  acres,  which 
would  be  quite  enough  to  raise  manna,  and  to  build 
some  habitations  upon  and  some  splendid  mansions; 
it  would  be  large  enough  to  raise  flax  to  make  robes 
of,  and  to  have  beautiful  orchards  of  fruit-trees ;  it 
would  be  large  enough  to  have  our  flower-gardens,  and 
every  thing  the  agriculturist  and  the  botanist  want, 
and  some  to  spare." 

It  seems,  too,  each  man  is  to  rise  with  his  wives  and 
children,  and  the  work  of  generation  is  still  to  go  on ; 
and  when  the  house  gets  too  full,  the  surplus  popula- 
tion are  to  be  sent  forth  to  new  worlds,  to  be  created 
for  their  especial  benefit.  This,  however,  is  not  to  be 
the  end  of  his  progress ;  he  is  even  to  become  a  god, 
and  a  creator  of  worlds  on  his  own  hook. 

"  The  Lord  created  you  and  me  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  gods  like  himself.  We  are  created,  we  are 
born  for  the  express  purpose  of  growing  up  from  the 
low  estate  of  manhood,  to  become  gods  like  unto  our 
Father  in  heaven.  The  Lord  has  organized  mankind 
for  the  express  purpose  of  increasing  in  that  intelligence 
and  truth  which  is  with  Grod,  until  he  is  capable  of 
creating  worlds  on  worlds,  and  becoming  gods."  (Brig- 
ham  Young,  Deseret  News,  Oct.  2,  1852.) 


220  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

"  After  men  have  got  their  exaltation  and  their 
crowns — have  become  gods,  even  the  sons  of  Grod— 
are  made  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords — they  have 
the  power  then  of  propagating  their  species  in  spirit, 
and  that  is  the  first  of  their  operations  with  regard  to 
organizing  a  world.  Power  is  then  given  to  them  to 
organize  the  elements,  and  then  commence  the  organ- 
ization of  tabernacles.  How  can  they  do  it  ?  Have 
they  to  go  to  that  earth  ?  Yes,  an  Adam  will  have  to 
go  there,  and  he  can  not  do  without  Eve ;  he  must 
have  Eve  to  commence  the  work  of  generation ;  and 
they  will  go  into  the  garden,  and  continue  to  eat  and 
drink  of  the  fruits  of  the  corporeal  world,  until  this 
grosser  matter  is  diffused  sufficiently  through  their  ce- 
lestial bodies  to  enable  them,  according  to  the  estab- 
lished laws,  to  produce  mortal  tabernacles  for  their 
spiritual  children."  (Brigham  Young,  Deseret  News 
extra,  September  14th,  1852.) 

"  But  I  expect,  if  I  am  faithful  with  yourselves,  that 
I  shall  see  the  time  with  yourselves  that  we  will  know 
how  to  prepare  to  organize  an  earth  like  this — know 
how  to  people  that  earth,  how  to  redeem  it,  how  to 
sanctify  it,  and  how  to  glorify  it,  with  those  who  live 
upon  it  who  hearken  to  our  counsel.  The  Father  and 
Son  have  attained  to  this  point  already ;  I  am  on  the 
way,  and  so  are  you,  and  every  faithful  servant  of 
G-od."  (Idem.) 

The  Father  and  Son,  therefore,  must  have  been  mor- 
tals once,  like  the  redoubtable  Brigham,  and  have 
worked  their  way  to  their  present  condition ! 

This,  however,  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  Each 
and  every  Mormon  has  had  a  pre-exist  ence.  The  ma- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  221 

terial  body  is  a  tabernacle  produced  by  natural  gener- 
ation, into  which  the  pre-existing  spirit  is  inserted. 
But  to  create  a  spirit  every  time  a  natural  body  is  cre- 
ated is  considered  too  irksome  a  business  for  the  Al- 
mighty. The  following  reasoning  is  considered  very 
conclusive  at  Salt  Lake  : 

"  Do  the  Scriptures  declare  that  the  spirit  was  form- 
ed at  the  time  the  tabernacle  was  made  ?  No.  All 
the  tabernacles  of  the  children  of  men  that  were  ever 
formed,  from  remote  generations,  from  the  days  of 
Adam  to  this  time^  have  been  formed  out  of  the  earth. 
"We  are  of  the  earth,  earthy.  The  tabernacle  has  been 
organized  according  to  certain  principles  and  laws  of 
organization,  with  bones,  and  flesh,  and  sinews,  and 
skin.  Now  where  do  you  suppose  all  these  tabernacles 
got  their  spirits  ?  Does  the  Lord  make  a  new  spirit 
every  time  a  tabernacle  is  made  ?  if  so,  the  work  of 
creation,  according  to  the  belief  of  Christendom,  did 
not  cease  on  the  seventh  day.  If  we  admit  their  views, 
the  Lord  must  be  continually  making  spirits  to  inhabit 
all  the  tabernacles  of  the  children  of  men ;  he  must 
make  something  like  one  thousand  millions  of  spirits 
every  century ;  he  must  be  working  at  it  every  day, 
for  there  are  many  hundreds  of  individuals  being  born 
into  the  world  every  day.  Does  the  Lord  create  a  new 
spirit  every  time  a  new  tabernacle  comes  into  the 
world  ?  That  does  not  look  reasonable,  or  God  like." 
( Orson  Pratt,  Des.  News  extra,  Sept.  14£A,  1852.) 

But,  happily,  the  Lord  is  relieved  of  this  daily  drudg- 
ery by  a  discovery  which  solves  the  whole  difficulty. 
These  pre-existing  spirits  were  no  other  than  the  sons 
of  (rod  who  shouted  for  joy  on  a  certain  memorable  oo- 


222  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

casion :  "  The  Lord  told  Job  that  all  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy,  and  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 
when  the  foundations  of  the  globe  were  laid.  The 
SONS  of  God,  recollect,  shouted  for  joy,  because  there 
was  a  beautiful  habitation  being  built,  so  that  they 
could  get  tabernacles  and  dwell  therein ;  they  expect- 
ed the  time  ;  they  looked  forward  to  the  period ;  it  was 
joyful  for  them  to  reflect  that  the  creation  was  about 
being  formed,  the  corner-stone  of  it  was  laid,  on  which 
they  might,  in  their  times  and  in  their  seasons,  go  forth 
and  receive  tabernacles  for  their  spirits  to  dwell  in." 
(Idem.) 

How  the  penalty  of  death,  which  is  claimed  to  be 
brought  upon  all  men  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  could  attach 
to  those  SONS  who  had  not  at  the  time  entered  taber- 
nacles, does  not  appear  to  be  explained.  One  would 
think,  with  such  a  punishment  staring  them  in  the 
face,  to  say  nothing  of  Missouri  mobs  and  other  casu- 
alties, they  would  be  somewhat  shy  of  entering  such 
rickety  and  exposed  habitations.  But  that  they  did 
pre-exist  is  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  good  Saints : 
"  We  find  that  Solomon,  that  wise  man,  says  that  when 
the  body  returns  to  the  dust,  the  spirit  returns  to  God 
who  gave  it.  Now  all  this  congregation  very  well 
know,  that  if  we  never  existed  there  we  could  not  re- 
turn there.  I  could  not  return  to  California;  why? 
because  I  never  have  been  there."  (Idem.) 

Why  Solomon's  declaration  will  not  as  well  apply  to 
the  daily  creation  of  spirits  to  be  inserted  in  the  taber- 
nacles, as  well  as  to  the  supposed  case  of  the  SONS  be- 
ing created  in  a  batch  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  is  not  explained, 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  223 

Some  of  these  pre-created  sons  are  more  noble  and 
intelligent  than  others,  which  fact  is  made  satisfacto- 
rily to  appear  by  "  the  Book  of  Abraham,  translated 
from  the  Egyptian  papyrus  by  the  prophet  Joseph 
Smith."  And  what  is  still  more  wonderful,  the  scur- 
vy ones  have  been  sent  into  the  bodies  of  Hottentots, 
negroes,  &c.,  while  the  most  noble  have  been  reserved 
for  these  latter  days,  for  the  distinguished  honor  of  be- 
ing inserted  into  tabernacles  prepared  by  the  conse- 
crated concubines  of  Utah. 

According  to  the  Brahmin,  Vishnu,  from  a  little  fish, 
became  a  big  fish,  and  from  a  big  fish,  a  giant,  and 
from  a  giant,  a  boar,  and  with  his  tusks  raised  the 
earth  from  the  bottom  of  the  waters.  This  was  a  feat 
sufficiently  marvelous;  but  the  Mormon  has  proved 
himself  a  match  for  the  East  Indian ;  the  latter  never 
dreamed  of  making  human  beings  the  raw  material  for 
manufacturing  gods.  The  former  have  fairly  bridged 
over  the  impassable  gulf  which  separates  the  finite 
from  the  infinite.  These  strange  mutations  from  weak- 
ness to  omnipotence,  which,  in  this  case,  may  not  ir- 
reverently be  compared  to  that  which  begins  in  a  tad- 
pole and  ends  in  a  bullfrog,  are  effected  by  the  all- 
powerful  instrumentality  of  faith,  which,  like  the  in- 
trusive young  of  the  cuckoo  in  the  sparrow's  nest,  has 
crowded  out  or  made  subordinate  every  other  doctrinal 
principle. 

So  far  the  system  would  seem  to  be  Polytheism,  dif- 
fering from  that  of  the  ancients,  inasmuch  as  each  man 
is  to  become  a  god  and  creator.  These  wild  notions 
lift  up  the  Mormon  in  his  own  conceit,  and  invest  him 
with  superior  privileges.  Being  a  god  in  embryo,  he 


224  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

feels  the  right  to  anticipate  the  privileges  of  divine  roy- 
alty ;  and  as  he  has  no  idea  of  heavenly  happiness,  ex- 
cept from  that  which  springs  from  the  unlimited  enjoy- 
ment of  the  senses,  he  has  already  legalized  adultery, 
and  is  fast  running  into  kingly  enormities  equal  to  any 
of  which  history  has  yet  spoken. 

As  before  stated,  the  Mormons  have  floated  off 
strangely  from  their  original  anchorage.  On  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Trinity,  the  Book  of  Mormon  recognizes  the 
common  doctrine  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit ;  and 
it  is  fair  to  believe  that  the  early  converts  were  not 
disturbed  in  their  faith  on  this  point ;  but  they  have 
since  adopted  notions  on  this  subject  which  would  more 
appropriately  apply  to  the  fabled  gods  of  antiquity. 
They  now  believe  that  God  the  Father  was  originally 
a  spirit  propagated  by  a  previous  God  or  Father ;  that 
he  was  at  first  a  disembodied  spirit,  and,  to  obtain  a 
body  or  clothing  to  his  spirit,  passed  through  a  proba- 
tion upon  some  earth  like  a  human  being.  The  Father 
of  God,  they  say,  was  the  grandfather  of  Christ.  Of 
course,  the  grandparent  must  have  been  propagated 
by  some  prior  Deity.  How  far  back  this  theocratic 
pedigree  runs,  does  not  appear  to  be  definitely  settled. 
Some  of  the  Saints,  in  conversation,  express  the  belief 
that  each  earth  in  the  universe  has  its  own  separate 
God,  exercising  his  omnipotent  functions  independent 
of  the  rest;  that  other  earths  have  probably  passed 
through  the  purifying  process  which  is  yet  in  store  for 
this  earth ;  and  that  some  of  the  earths  have  been  cre- 
ated by  mortals,  who  had  become  gods.  There  would, 
therefore,  seem  to  be  no  danger  of  a  failure  in  this  the- 
ocratic lineage  for  the  government  of  the  universe ;  and 


UTAH  AND    THE    MORMONS.  226 

if  there  were,  the  improved  machinery  at  Salt  Lake 
would  insure  a  supply  of  the  genuine  article. 

The  term  "  only -be  got  ten"  appeared  to  be  somewhat 
at  war  with  this  theory,  but  is  now  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained. It  is  alleged  that,  after  Christ  was  chosen  a 
delegate  at  the  grand  council  before  mentioned,  the 
Father  begat  a  tabernacle  for  him,  through  a  human 
mother,  and  that  this  was  the  only  instance  of  that 
description. 

The  HOLY  GTHOST  is  a  disembodied  spirit,  and  it  is 
believed  he  will  at  some  period  pass  through  a  human 
probation  and  obtain  a  body.  Some  believe  that  this 
has  already  been  done,  and  that  he  occupied  the  body 
of  the  prophet  Smith ;  but  this  has  not  yet  received  the 
stamp  of  authority,  and  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
ten  thousand  wild  notions  floating  through  Mormon 
brains.  This  personage  has  a  kind  of  shadowy  exist- 
ence in  Latter-day  theology,  appearing  and  disappear- 
ing with  all  the  eccentric  shiftings  of  an  Aurora  Bore- 
alis.  Probably  Shakspeare's  Ariel,  in  the  Tempest,  is 
as  nearly  an  embodiment  of  the  character  as  can  well 
be  conceived.  His  pedigree  remains  in  still  greater 
obscurity.  Who  was  his  sire,  and  who  his  dam,  is  a 
point  to  be  explained  by  some  future  revelation. 

It  is  an  important  point  in  Mormon  belief,  that  the 
"  sons"  or  spirits  who  have  been  begotten  in  heaven 
should  have  natural  bodies,  as  a  kind  of  shield  for  pro- 
tection ;  otherwise,  each  one  is  like  a  body  without  a 
skin,  or  a  clam  without  a  shell.  Why,  being  material 
in  the  first  instance  (as  will  appear  in  the  sequel),  it 
should  be  necessary  to  dip  them,  like  candles,  into  the 
grosser  parts  of  nature,  to  crust  them  over,  is  a  point 
K2 


226  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

to  be  yet  canvassed  and  settled.  Satan  and  his  party 
are  doomed  to  remain  without  bodies,  or  take  up  with 
very  vile  ones,  on  account  of  their  factious  opposition 
at  the  time  the  celestial  election  was  held.  Had  he 
obtained  a  majority  on  that  occasion,  the  position  of 
the  parties  would  have  been  changed. 

On  the  subject  of  ANGELS,  too,  the  Saints  have  de- 
parted from  common  belief  in  assigning  them  a  much 
lower  position  in  the  supernal  regions.  These  beings 
— who  have  heretofore  been  so  brightly  colored  with 
the  hues  of  a  heavenly  morning — whose  very  name 
has  presented  a  perfect  ideal  of  the  highest  degree  of 
happiness  and  goodness  which  can  be  secured  to  cre- 
ated beings — have  failed  somehow  to  reach  the  highest 
position  in  the  Mormon  heaven.  They  are  regarded  as 
ministering  spirits,  messengers,  or  traveling  agents,  to 
do  the  bidding  of  those  who  are  above  them  in  the  scale. 
One  of  them,  for  instance,  was  ordered  to  appear  to  the 
prophet  Joseph,  and  point  out  the  locality  of  the  golden 
plates.  They  are  alleged,  indeed,  to  be  happy  in  their 
sphere,  but  they  can  never  be  invested  with  the  para- 
phernalia of  celestial  royalty,  like  the  most  favored  of 
the  Latter-day  Saints.  The  fair  Cyprians  of  Salt  Lake 
feel  themselves  quite  superior  to  angels.  He  or  she 
who  can  only  be  an  angel  is  considered  decidedly  below 
par.  Why  any  of  the  Saints  should  be  reduced  to  this 
dilemma  is  not  very  clear  ;  but  the  best  opinion  seems 
to  be,  that  angels  are  those  who  have  not  been  married 
or  sealed ;  and  it  is  an  argument  for  silly  and  deluded 
females  that  they  must  lengthen  out  the  tail  of  some 
harem  in  order  to  reach  a  higher  degree  of  salva- 
tion. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  227 

"I  will  tell  you  what  revelation  says,  not  only  con- 
cerning them  that  reject  these  things,  but  concerning 
those  that,  through  their  carelessness,  or  want  of  faith, 
or  some  thing  else,  have  failed  to  have  their  marriages 
sealed  for  time  and  for  all  eternity  ;  those  that  do  not  do 
these  things,  so  as  to  have  the  same  ordinances  sealed 
upon  their  heads  by  divine  authority,  as  was  upon  the 
head  of  old  father  Adam — if  they  fail  to  do  it  through 
wickedness — through  their  ungodliness — behold,  they 
also  will  never  have  the  privilege  of  possessing  that 
which  is  possessed  by  the  gods  that  hold  the  keys  of 
power,  of  coming  up  to  the  thrones  of  their  exaltation, 
and  receiving  their  kingdoms.  What  will  be  their 
condition  ?  the  Lord  has  told  us.  He  says  these  are 
angels ;  because  they  keep  not  this  law,  they  shall  be 
ministering  servants  unto  those  who  are  worthy  of  ob- 
taining a  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ; 
wherefore,  saith  the  Lord,  they  shall  remain  singly  and 
separately  in  their  saved  condition,  and  shall  not  have 
power  to  enlarge  themselves,  and  thus  shall  they  re- 
main forever  and  ever."  ( Orson  Pratt,  Des.  News 
extra.) 

Another  important  departure  from  the  primitive 
faith  is  their  doctrine  of  MATERIALISM.  They  have  re- 
vived the  old  atomic  theory  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  with 
improvements,  and  teach  that  matter  is  eternal  and  in- 
telligent. They  believe  that  all  things,  divine  or  hu- 
man, are  material ;  and,  as  a  sequence,  they  negative 
the  omnipresence  of  God,  and  eventually  make  the 
Saints  every  way  the  equal  of  (rod. 

"  God  the  Father  is  material ;  Jesus  Christ  is  ma- 
terial; angels  are  material;  men  are  material;  the 


228  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

universe  is  material.  Nothing  exists  which  is  not 
material."  (Millennial  Star,  vol.  vi.,  p.  19.) 

"  What  is  God?  He  is  a  material  organized  intel- 
ligence, possessing  both  tody  and  parts.  This  being 
can  not  occupy  two  distinct  places  at  once,  therefore 
he  can  not  be  every  where  present."  (P.  20.) 

Of  CHRIST  they  say,  "  He,  too,  can  traverse  space, 
and  go  from  world  to  world  like  the  Father,  but  can 
not  occupy  two  places  at  once." 

Of  the  SPIRITS  they  say,  "  They  are  material  organ- 
izations, intelligences  possessing  body  and  parts,  but 
not  composed  of  flesh  and  bones,  but  of  some  substance 
less  tangible  to  pur  gross  senses  in  our  present  life, 
but  tangible  to  those  in  the  same  element  as  them- 
selves. In  short,  they  are  men  in  embryo — intelli- 
gences waiting  to  come  into  the  material  world,  and 
take  upon  them  flesh  and  bones,  that,  through  birth, 
death,  and  the  resurrection,  they  may  also  be  perfect- 
ed in  the  material  organization.  Such  was  Jesus 
Christ,  and  such  were  we  before  we  came  into  this 
world,  and  such  we  will  be  again  in  the  intervening 
space  between  death  and  resurrection." 

Of  MEN  they  say,  "  They  are  the  offspring  of  God 
the  Father,  and  brothers  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  were 
once  intelligent  spirits  in  the  presence  of  God,  and 
were  with  him  before  the  earth  was  formed.  They 
are  capable  of  receiving  intelligence  and  exaltation  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  be  raised  from  the  dead  with  a 
body  like  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  possess  immortal 
flesh  and  bones,  being  gods  or  sons  of  God,  endowed 
with  the  same  powers,  attributes,  and  capacities  that 
their  heavenly  Father  and  Jesus  Christ  possess." 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  229 

MATTER  they  claim  to  be  eternal,  and  INTELLIGENCE 
to  "be  "  either  a  property  of  material  atoms,  or  a  re- 
sult of  the  combination  or  contact  of  these  atoms." 
(P.  159.) 

Matter  could  not  have  been  created  by  any  being, 
because  that  would  suppose  the  existence  of  such  be- 
ing prior  to  the  matter,  which  could  not  be,  inasmuch 
as  such  being  consists  of  matter. 

This  whole  doctrine  of  matter  seems  to  be  compact- 
ed in  the  following  intricate  weaving  of  Orson  Pratt. 
(Idem,  p.  173.) 

"  The  only  sound  answer  that  can  be  given  to  these 
intricate  inquiries  is,  that  these  atoms  must  be  intel- 
ligent, having  self-moving  powers,  limited  to  contain 
spheres  and  modes  of  action  according  to  the  nature 
and  degree  of  their  intelligence ;  and  that  this  intel- 
ligence is  not  the  effect,  but  the  cause  of  combina- 
tion ;  not  derived  from  experience,  but  self-existent  and 
eternal." 

This  is  as  clear  as  mud.  According  to  this,  the  first 
being  was  created  by  a  chance  combination  of  matter ; 
or  else,  these  atoms  being  intelligent,  squads  of  them 
got  together  and  formed  themselves  into  a  being.  Was 
there  any  wrangling  among  them  as  to  which  should 
be  elevated  to  the  head,  arid  which  depressed  to  the 
nether  extremities  ?  which  should  be  hide,  and  which 
hair  ?  which  should  tamely  form  the  portion  of  a  base- 
ment wall,  or  shine  gloriously  in  a  Venus  de  Medici  or 
Greek  Slave?  Of  course,  all  organized  forms  had  a 
beginning — gods,  men,  and  devils  being  on  a  par  in 
this  respect,  except  that  the  former  got  the  start  in 
this  combining  process.  How  it  chanced  that  some 


230  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

of  these  atoms  were  of  finer  quality  than  others,  or 
why  each,  being  intelligent,  it  became  necessary  for 
them  to  be  organized  into  combined  forms,  are  things 
which  do  not  distinctly  appear. 

This  author  continues  his  speculations,  and  ruth- 
lessly overthrows  long-cherished  opinions  in  this  wise : 
"  Attraction  is  said  to  be  a  property  of  matter.  It  is 
said  that  every  atom  attracts  every  other  atom  with  a 
force  varying  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance. 
But  attraction  is  impossible,  for  any  atom  can  not  act 
where  it  is  not."  He  explains  the  phenomena  usually 
attributed  to  attraction  as  follows :  "  It  is  evident  that 
intelligent  self-moving  atoms,  confined  in  their  move- 
ments within  the  necessary  limits,  can  produce  all 
these  effects.  These  self-moving  atoms  are  regulated 
by  the  following  law,  namely,  Every  atom  moves  itself 
toward  every  other  atom  with  a  force  varying  inverse- 
ly as  the  square  of  the  distance."  (P.  174.) 

Newton  would  seem  to  have  made  a  grand  mistake. 
His  theory  of  gravitation  is  effectually  exploded,  and 
at  Salt  Lake  has  become  an  obsolete  idea.  The  apple 
will  hereafter  fall  to  the  ground  because  it  is  intelli- 
gent, and  prefers  a  downward  motion.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  our  Spitzenbergs,  and  our  pippins,  and  all 
their  relations,  will  continue  in  that  happy  form  of 
mind,  and  not  "  shoot  madly  from  their  spheres"  in 
another  direction. 

But  the  principle  of  gravitation  is  not  the  only  cher- 
ished idea  which  the  world  must  give  up.  There  are 
other  and  more  important  sequences  from  these  start- 
ling propositions.  If  each  atom  be  intelligent,  self- 
existent,  and  eternal,  there  must  be  as  many  first 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  231 

causes  as  there  are  atoms  in  the  universe,  and  the 
idea  of  a  (TREAT  FIRST  CAUSE  must  share  the  fate  of 
the  Newtonian  theory.  It  has  been  shrewdly  remark- 
ed by  some  one,  that  "  if  all  men  were  kings,  there 
would  be  no  subjects."  Upon  this  principle,  one  would 
naturally  suppose  that  these  first  causes,  or  gods,  would 
scarcely  find  elbow-room  for  each  other.  Some  would 
call  this  atheism,  but  why  does  it  not  come  nearer 
pantheism  ?  Each  atom  is  a  god  by  itself,  because  it 
is  "intelligent,  self -existent,  and  eternal"  and  each 
Saint  is  consequently  a  conglomeration  of  gods.  The 
subject  naturally  provokes  some  queries,  which  may, 
perhaps,  be  satisfactorily  solved  at  some  future  reve- 
lation from  the  celestial  atoms  above.  Atoms,  as  or- 
ganized into  men,  quarrel  and  fight  with  each  other ; 
was  there  any  fighting  between  them  before  men  were 
created?  Who  confined  these  atoms  "  within  the  nec- 
essary limits?"  was  that  a  matter  of  chance,  or  did  the 
leaders  of  the  godocracy  get  together  in  atomic  cau- 
cus, and  cut  and  dry  the  business  for  the  multitude 
after  the  fashion  of  modern  politicians  ?  Why  is  the 
boy  less  wise  than  the  gray-beard,  and  why  is  it  nec- 
essary to  build  up  schools  and  seminaries  of  educa- 
tion? 

This  whole  doctrine  of  the  eternity  of  matter  and 
the  origin  of  the  gods  is  in  direct  contradiction  to  the 
Book  of  Mormon  and  of  Smith's  early  revelations. 

"  By  these  things  we  know  that  there  is  a  Gfod  in 
heaven,  who  is  infinite  and  eternal,  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting,  the  same  unchangeable  God,  the  framer 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  things  which  are  in 
them."  (Doctrines  and  Covenants,  p.  92.) 


232  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

"  There  is  a  Grod,  and  he  hath  created  all  things, 
both  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  all  things  that  are 
in  them."  (Book  of  Mormon,  p.  69.) 

Afterward  we  find  the  prophet,  in  the  very  last  ser- 
mon he  preached,  using  the  following  language : 

"  The  head  Grod  called  together  the  gods,  and  sat  in 
grand  council.  The  grand  counselors  sat  in  yonder 
heavens,  and  contemplated  the  creation  of  "the  worlds 
that  were  created  at  that  time."  (Times  and  Sea- 
sons,  p.  614.) 

But  Mormonism  claims  to  be  a  progressive  Church, 
and  what  was  truth  yesterday  is  discovered  to  be  false 
to-day,  and  the  new  principle  is  destined  to  be  ex- 
ploded to-morrow. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  233 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DOCTRINES    CONTINUED. 

Early  Notions  on  Marriage. — Introduction  of  Polygamy. — Existed  at 
first  as  a  secret  Institution. — Jesuitism  of  Missionaries  on  the  Subject. 
— Polygamy  an  Element  of  Salvation. — The  Gods  are  Polygamists. 

AT  an  early  period,  their  views  in  relation  to  mar- 
riage were  in  conformity  to  the  rest  of  the  civilized 
world.  This,  in  fact,  was  one  of  the  few  subjects 
which  was  plainly  expressed  in  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

"  And  now  I  make  an  end  of  speaking  unto  you  con- 
cerning this  pride.  And  were  it  not  that  I  must  speak 
unto  you  concerning  a  grosser  crime,  my  heart  would 
rejoice  exceedingly  because  of  you.  But  the  word  of 
G-od  burdens  me  because  of  your  grosser  crimes.  For 
behold,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  this  people  begin  to  wax 
in  iniquity ;  they  understand  not  the  Scriptures ;  for 
they  seek  to  excuse  themselves  in  committing  whore- 
doms, because  of  the  things  which  were  written  con- 
cerning David,  and  Solomon  his  son.  Behold,  David 
and  Solomon  truly  had  many  wives  and  concubines, 
which  thing  was  abominable  before  me,  saith  the  Lord. 
Wherefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  led  this  people 
forth  out  of  the  land  of  Jerusalem,  by  the  power  of 
mine  arm,  that  I  might  raise  up  unto  me  a  righteous 
branch  from  the  fruit  of  the  loins  of  Joseph ;  where- 
fore I,  the  Lord  God,  will  not  suffer  that  this  people 
shall  do  like  unto  them  of  old.  Wherefore,  my  breth- 
ren, hear  me,  and  hearken  to  the  word  of  the  Lord ; 


234  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

for  there  shall  not  any  man  among  you  have  save  it  be 
one  wife,  and  concubines  he  shall  have  none ;  for  I, 
the  Lord  Grod,  delight  in  the  chastity  of  women ;  and 
whoredoms  are  an  abomination  before  me."  (Book 
of  Mormon,  p.  135.) 

Their  book  of  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants"  has  the 
form  of  the  marriage  ceremony,  including  the  covenant 
obligations  of  the  parties,  in  which  is  found  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  You  both  mutually  agree  to  be  each  other's  com- 
panion, husband  and  wife,  observing  the  legal  rights 
belonging  to  this  condition ;  that  is,  keeping  yourselves 
wholly  for  each  other,  and  from  all  others,  during 
your  lives." 

In  1843  the  prophet  had  a  revelation  by  which  po- 
lygamy was  introduced,  as  already  stated ;  and  this 
institution  is  now  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  Mor- 
monism.  In  answer  to  the  objection  that  this  revela- 
tion is  in  contradiction  to  the  "  Book  of  Mormon,"  the 
Saints  quote  the  following  vague  and  somewhat  un- 
meaning sentence,  which  appears  as  a  context  to  the 
above  extract :  "  For  if  I  will,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
raise  up  seed  unto  me,  I  will  command  my  people; 
otherwise  they  shall  hearken  unto  these  things."  By 
this  they  say  "  the  bars  were  left  down  ;"  but  whether 
Joseph  and  Bigdon  purposely  left  "  the  bars  down,"  or 
intended  this  as  one  of  the  thousand  obscure  and 
wordy  sentences  with  which  the  book  abounds,  with- 
out particular  aim  or  object,  is  not  very  clear.  Be  this, 
however,  as  it  may,  the  whole  Church  have  rushed 
through  this  gap  like  a  flock  of  goats ;  and  ihe  Mormon 
community  are  now  as  hopelessly  encircled  within  the 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  235 

folds  of  this  pernicious  doctrine,  as  poor  Laocoon  with- 
in those  of  the  serpent  by  which  his  "body  was  crushed. 

The  introduction  of  polygamy  or  concubinage  into 
the  Mormon  Church  was  as  certain  as  any  other  effect 
from  an  obvious  cause.  It  belongs  to  it  as  legitimate- 
ly as  a  muddy  current  to  the  Missouri,  or  filth  to  a 
cess-pool,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  crowning  trait 
of  Mormonism.  As  already  stated,  it  grew  out  of  the 
polluted  mind  of  the  prophet,  who  established  it  as  an 
institution  of  the  Church  to  legalize  his  own  licentious- 
ness, and  the  effect  has  been  to  diffuse  the  poison  from 
a  portion  through  nearly  the  whole  mass. 

The  revelation  on  this  subject,  which  the  reader  will 
find  in  the  Appendix,  forms  an  era  in  Latter-day  his- 
tory, and  is  a  curiosity  of  its  kind.  A  brief  analysis 
will  exhibit  its  salient  points. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Mormon  deity,  in  this  import- 
ant communication,  seems  to  have  become  utterly  ob- 
livious of  the  strong  terms  of  condemnation  which  he 
had  used  in  the  Grolden  Bible  in  regard  to  the  debauch- 
eries of  David  and  Solomon,  and  the  tender  solicitude 
therein  expressed  in  reference  to  "  the  chastity  of  wom- 
en." In  the  next  place,  all  marriage  covenants  are 
declared  to  "be  void  which  are  not  sealed  by  the  "  holy 
spirit  of  promise  of  him  who  is  anointed"  which, 
of  course,  turns  out  to  be  Joseph  Smith.  Marriages 
with  this  precious  sanction  are  for  eternity  ;  but  with- 
out it  they  are  only  for  time,  and  the  parties  can  get 
no  higher  than  angels  on  the  ladder  of  salvation.  The 
promises  to  Abraham  that  his  seed  should  be  multi- 
plied are  then  repeated,  and  the  prophet  is  assured  that 
he  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  that  patriarch,  and  is  com- 


236  UTAH   AND   THE   MoRMONS. 

manded  to  "  do  the  works  of  Abraham,"  which  means 
that  he  must  take  unto  himself  a  multiplicity  of  wives 
and  concubines. 

"  Grod  commanded  Abraham,  and  Sarah  gave  Ha- 
gar  to  Abraham  to  wife.  And  why  did  she  do  it? 
Because  this  was  the  law,  and  from  Hagar  sprang 
many  people.  This,  therefore,  was  fulfilling  among 
other  things  the  promises.  "Was  Abraham,  therefore, 
under  condemnation  ?  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Nay  ; 
for  I  the  Lord  commanded  it." 

"Abraham  received  concubines,  and  they  bare  him 
children,  and  it  was  accounted  to  him  for  righteous- 
ness, because  they  were  given  unto  him,  and  he  abode 
in  my  law.  As  Isaac  also  and  Jacob  did  none  other 
things  than  that  which  they  were  commanded,  they 
have  entered  into  their  exaltation,  according  to  the 
promises,  and  sit  upon  thrones,  and  are  not  angels,  but 
are  gods" 

Passing  over  sundry  matters  relating  to  the  high 
powers  with  which  the  prophet  was  invested,  and  the 
high  favor  in  which  he  stood,  and  also  some  very  flat- 
tering compliments  to  Emma  Smith,  his  wife,  we  come 
to  the  summing  up  of  the  whole  matter,  in  the  last 
two  paragraphs,  containing  the  law  of  the  priesthood 
in  reference  to  polygamy,  from  which  extracts  have 
already  been  made. 

A  laughing  philosopher  might  find  food  for  merri- 
ment in  all  this,  unless  too  much  shocked  by  the  bold 
blasphemy  which  can  venture  to  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Most  High  a  justification  for  the  grossest  licen- 
tiousness on  the  part  of  his  creatures.  The  world  has 
heretofore  supposed  that  the  introduction  of  Christian- 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  237 

ity  produced  a  revocation  of  the  external  ceremonies 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation  as  the  essentials  of  religion, 
and  afforded  a  happy  deliverance  from  the  licentious 
practices  permitted  among  the  Jewish  people.  Their 
internal  states  were  such  as  could  be  aptly  symbolized 
by  the  prophet  Hosea  taking  a  harlot  to  wife,  and  oth- 
er representative  performances  equally  offensive ;  and 
they  were  subsequently  denounced  as  "  a  wicked  and 
adulterous  generation"  by  that  Being  before  whose 
omniscient  scrutiny  all  their  pollutions  and  abomina- 
tions were  laid  bare. 

According  to  the  book  of  creation,  the  human  race 
proceeded  from  a  single  pair.  The  Creator  did  not 
see  fit  to  provide  a  score  of  Eves  for  the  one  Adam, 
though  the  necessity  of  populating  the  earth  would 
seem  to  have  been  as  great  then  as  at  any  subsequent 
period.  The  first  bigamist  or  polygamist  of  whom  we 
have  any  account  was  Lamech,  a  descendant  of  Cain, 
the  first  murderer,  and  himself  an  admitted  homicide. 
Lamech  belonged  to  that  race  whose  enormous  wick- 
edness brought  on  their  own  destruction  by  a  flood  of 
waters.  With  no  more  than  a  secular  knowledge  of 
ecclesiastical  history,  we  may  easily  see  that  the  Jews 
possessed  a  peculiar  genius,  which  could  be  exact  in 
external  ceremonies  without  any  knowledge  of  their 
signification ;  and  for  the  same  reason,  that  they  were 
the  best  adapted  for  the  preservation  of  the  word  of  the 
Old  Testament  in  its  integrity.  As  they  were  merely 
outward  in  all  things  of  religion  and  worship,  so,  too, 
they  were  grossly  licentious,  and  presented  the  lowest 
plane  of  human  degradation  into  which  the  Divine 
could  descend,  and  work  out  the  salvation  of  the  human 


238  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

family.  In  all  these  respects  the  Jews  were  a  chosen 
people  ;  but  the  idea  that  Christians  are  to  revive  the 
practices  of  Jewry  would  be  as  startling  and  absurd 
as  to  command  the  mature  and  fruit-bearing  tree  to 
sink  back  into  its  own  roots. 

Any  degree  of  self-respect,  however  small,  must  pre- 
clude an  argument  with  the  Mormon  champions  on  the 
fairness  of  the  precedents  by  which  they  justify  their 
licentiousness.  One  might  as  well  debate  the  point 
with  any  other  class  of  fanatics  or  designing  impostors, 
as  to  whether  they  had  the  right  to  stone  people  to 
death  for  violating  the  Sabbath.  For  the  murderer,  the 
most  legitimate  argument  is  the  halter ;  and  for  the 
bigamist,  the  most  appropriate  one  is  the  penitentiary. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  argument  where  there  is 
no  common  ground.  The  Bible,  the  common  resting- 
place  of  all  Christian  minds,  ceases  to  be  mutual  au- 
thority when  a  new  revelation  changes  a  permission 
into  a  command,  and  makes  new  readings  and  trans- 
lations to  suit  the  ideas,  or  pander  to  the  lusts  of  the 
revelator ;  and  truly,  if  the  world  has  learned  nothing 
real  in  regard  to  polygamy,  or  sacerdotal  lust,  after  a 
period  of  6000  years,  it  may  be  regarded  as  quite  un- 
teachable  on  any  subject. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  so  many  persons  have  been 
converted  to  the  Mormon  faith,  in  the  faith  of  such 
systematic  prostitution.  It  is  libel  enough  upon  the 
integrity  and  intelligence  of  mankind  that  Mormonism, 
in  any  form,  ever  had  an  existence ;  but  it  is  due  to 
many  to  say,  that  they  have  been  brought  into  the 
Church  under  the  strongest  assurances  of  the  mission- 
aries that  polygamy  did  not  exist  among  them.  Smith 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  £39 

had  his  pretended  revelation  on  the  subject  July  12, 
1843,  from  which,  until  the  29th  of  August,  1852,  it 
existed  as  a  secret  institution.  At  the  last-mentioned 
period,  it  was  publicly  justified  in  a  sermon  preached 
by  Orson  Pratt ;  and  the  revelation  and  sermon  were, 
on  the  14th  of  September  following,  published  to  the 
world  in  the  "  Deseret  News  extra."  During  this  en- 
tire period  of  nine  years,  their  missionaries  were  in- 
structed to  deny  the  existence  of  polygamy,  and  they 
have  proved  themselves  prompt  and  ready  liars  on  all 
occasions  when  the  subject  has  been  called  in  question. 
On  this  point  the  proofs  are  abundant. 

In  or  about  the  year  1845,  one  John  C.  Bennett 
apostatized  from  Mormonism,  and  in  his  expose  alleged 
that  the  spiritual  wife  system  was  in  vogue  at  Nauvoo. 
Parley  P.  Pratt,  then  and  now  of  high  authority  in  the 
Church,  promptly  denied  that  any  such  doctrine  was 
"  known,  held,  or  practiced  as  a  principle  of  the  Latter- 
day  Saints ;"  and  urged  that  it  was  "  but  another  name 
for  whoredoms,"  "  and  that  it  was  as  foreign  from  the 
real  principles  of  the  Church  as  the  devil  is  from  Grod, 
or  as  sectarianism  is  from  Christianity."  (Millennial 
Star,  vol.  vi.,  p.  22.) 

In  "A  Series  of  Pamphlets,"  published  in  1851,  the 
reader  will  find  an  account  of  a  discussion  between 
Elder  John  Taylor,  another  Mormon  dignitary,  and 
some  persons  in  France,  in  July,  1850.  One  of  the 
charges  brought  against  the  Mormons  was,  that  polyga- 
my was  practiced  among  them.  To  refute  this,  Elder 
Taylor  remarked,  "  We  are  accused  here  of  polygamy, 
and  actions  the  most  indelicate,  obscene,  and  disgust- 
ing, such  as  none  but  a  corrupt  heart  could  have  con- 


240  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

trived.  These  things  are  too  outrageous  to  admit  of 
belief ;  therefore  I  shall  content  myself  by  reading  our 
views  of  chastity  and  marriage  from  a  work  published 
by  us,  containing  some  of  the  articles  of  our  faith." 
He  then  read  from  the  Book  of  "  Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants" on  the  subject,  containing  the  following  mar- 
riage obligations : 

"  You  both  mutually  agree  to  be  each  other's  com- 
panion, husband  and  wife,  observing  the  legal  rights 
belonging  to  this  condition ;  that  is,  keeping  yourselves 
wholly  for  each  other,  and  from  all  others,  during 
your  lives." 

Also  the  following :  "  Inasmuch  as  this  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  has  been  reproached  with  the  crime  of 
fornication  and  poly  gamy,  we  declare  that  we  believe 
that  one  man  should  have  one  wife,  and  one  woman 
but  one  husband" 

It  will  be  recollected  that  polygamy  was  introduced 
by  the  prophet  in  August,  1843,  nearly  seven  years 
before  this  discussion ;  and  yet  this  sacerdotal  villain 
quoted  from  the  lying  book  of  "Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants" in  denial  of  the  charge.  But  this  is  not  all : 
this  unmitigated  scamp  was  at  that  very  period  living 
in  a  state  of  adultery  with  a  plurality  of  wives,  so  call- 
ed. Perhaps  his  Mormon  conscience  justified  him  with 
the  plea  that  he  did  not  directly  deny  the  charge  him- 
self— he  only  said  it  was  too  gross  an  accusation  to  be 
believed,  and  then  quoted  what  he  knew  to  be  false 
from  one  of  their  sacred  books !  It  is  difficult  to  find 
terms  in  which  to  express  the  baseness  of  these  false- 
hoods. "We  detest  the  man  who  tells  a  lie  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gain ;  we  pity  and  despise  the  one  who  resorts 


UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS.  24:1 

to  it  to  screen  his  guilt  from  detection.  But  in  what 
estimation  shall  we  hold  these  reverend  panderers,  who 
utter  glib  and  polished  falsehoods  to  entice  weak-mind- 
ed females  into  their  ecclesiastical  brothel  ?  A  witness 
who  perjures  himself  in  one  point  of  his  testimony  is 
discredited  in  all ;  and  the  Latter-day  Saints  can  not 
complain  of  the  application  of  this  rule  to  all  their  al- 
legations and  pretenses. 

The  Book  of  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants,"  which  has 
this  standing  falsehood  upon  its  pages,  is  regarded  as 
even  superior  to  the  Book  of  Mormon  as  an  authori- 
ty and  guide.  A  new  edition  was  printed  in  1846, 
in  which  the  same  thing  is  repeated.  Many  simple- 
minded  and  honest  people  have  been  cajoled  into  Mor- 
monism,  who  would  have  been  saved  from  this  pit 
of  pollution  had  they  known  the  truth  on  this  point. 
Many  have  left  after  learning  the  truth ;  many  are  pre- 
paring to  leave ;  and  many  others  would  leave,  were 
not  their  means  exhausted  in  support  of  the  hierarchy, 
which  now  keeps  them  in  bondage. 

Polygamy,  since  its  introduction,  has  branched  into 
importance ;  and  as  an  element  of  salvation,  has  be- 
come paramount  to  the  atonement,  and  even  to  faith 
itself.  Orson  Pratt,  in  his  sermon  in  justification,  thus 
enlightens  the  world  on  this  point : 

"  But,  says  the  objector,  we  can  not  see  how  this 
doctrine  can  be  embraced  as  a  matter  of  religion  and 
faith  ;  we  can  hardly  conceive  how  it  can  be  embraced 
only  as  a  kind  of  domestic  concern,  something  that  per- 
tains to  domestic  pleasures,  in  no  way  connected  with 
religion.  In  reply,  we  will  show  you  that  it  is  incor- 
porated as  a  part  of  our  religion,  and  necessary  for  our 
L 


242  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

exaltation  to  the  fullness  of  the  Lord's  glory  in  tho 
eternal  world.  "Would  you  like  to  know  the  reasons  ? 
Before  you  get  through^  we  will  endeavor  to  tell  you 
why  we  consider  it  an  essential  doctrine  to  glory  and 
exaltation  to  our  fullness  of  happiness  in  the  world  to 
come."  (Deseret  News  extra.) 

What  sublime  efficacy !  The  descent,  sufferings, 
and  glorification  of  our  Lord  effected  only  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  but  a  higher  degree  of  salvation  is 
secured  by  the  efficient  instrumentality  of  bigamy  and 
adultery.  The  furies  of  the  French  Revolution  abolish- 
ed Christianity,  and  bowed  themselves  in  mock  ado- 
ration before  the  Goddess  of  Reason  in  the  form  of  a 
strumpet.  But  the  Mormon  has  improved  upon  this 
by  taking  the  strumpet  to  his  bosom — wallowing  in  the 
filth  of  the  brothel  as  the  grand  panacea  for  the  puri- 
fication of  society,  and  the  elevation  of  himself  to  the 
attributes  of  Deity. 

Polygamy,  according  to  the  Mormons,  is  a  privilege 
belonging  to  the  gods  as  well  as  to  men.  Their  pro- 
fanity on  this  subject  exceeds  belief.  The  spirits  who 
enter  the  earthly  tabernacles,  they  insist,  are  sons  of 
the  gods  begotten  in  the  usual  course  of  generation. 
God  has,  nobody  knows  how  many,  wives  or  concu- 
bines— the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "  Kings'  daughters 
were  among  thy  honorable  women;  upon  thy  right 
hand  did  stand  the  queen  in  gold  of  Ophir,"  being  con- 
sidered sufficient  on  this  point.  This  doctrine  is  now 
as  common  at  Salt  Lake  as  "  household  words." 

"  God  was  married,  or  how  could  he  beget  his  son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  do  the  works  of  his  father."  (Des- 
eret Almanac,  1853.) 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  343 

"  The  apostle  says  to  the  Hebrews,  '  We  have  had 
fathers  of  our  flesh,  who  corrected  us,  and  we  gave 
them  reverence.  Shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in  sub- 
jection to  the  Father  of  Spirits,  and  live  ?'  Father  of 
spirits,  which  are  in  shape  and  form  of  mortal  beings, 
would  lead  us  to  infer  that  spirits  not  only  have  a  fa- 
ther, but  also  a  MOTHER."  (Deseret  News,  Dec.  25, 
1852.) 

Christ,  as  a  spirit,  was  begotten  in  the  heavens,  and 
born  of  one  of  the  celestial  concubines.  A  tabernacle 
was  begotten  for  him  on  earth  by  his  father,  similar  to 
the  affair  of  Jupiter  and  Europa.  Christ,  too,  was  mar- 
ried, and  his  wives  were  Mary  and  Martha ;  these  fe- 
males would  not  have  ministered  unto  him  in  the  way 
described  (so  they  reason),  had  they  not  been  his  wives. 

The  pollution  of  the  Latter-day  polygamist  is  thor- 
ough and  complete,  mind  and  body.  There  is  no  de- 
gree of  profanity  and  blasphemy  that  he  can  not  com- 
pass with  the  coolness  of  an  every-day  occupation. 
Every  thing  sacred  which  he  breathes  upon  or  touch- 
es, is  profaned  and  polluted,  from  the  throne  of  the 
Eternal  to  the  family  altar,  around  which  are  usually 
garnered  all  the  hopes  and  joys  of  Christian  minds. 
All  his  doctrines  are  based  on  literalism  and  material- 
ism-— all  his  joys  are  carnal  and  selfish. 

"  If,"  says  the  Elder  Lorenzo  Snow,  "  you  show  me 
a  man  who  is  not  selfish,  you  will  show  me  no  man 
at  all ;  if  you  show  me  a  woman  who  is  not  selfish, 
you  will  show  me  an  idiot,  and  one  who  knows  not 
the  way  to  happiness  or  a  crown  of  glory."  (Deseret 
News,  Nov.  6,  1842.) 

The  true  follower  of  Smith  can  form  no  idea   of 


244  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

earthly  and  heavenly  happiness  except  what  proceeds 
from,  or  is  in  some  way  connected  with,  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  bodily  senses.  He  knows  nothing  of  spir- 
itual ideas  or  pleasures.  Disinterested  benevolence 
has  no  place  in  the  storehouse  of  his  religious  treas- 
ures. Every  thing  with  him  is  matter ;  and  mind  is 
nothing,  here  and  hereafter,  except  as  it  is  made  up 
of,  and  connected  with  matter.  He  is,  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  term,  a  materialist ;  this  he  not  only  openly 
avows,  but  strenuously  contends  that  materialism  fur- 
nishes the  only  key  to  happiness.  He  is  of  the  earth, 
earthy ;  and  earthy  he  desires  and  expects  to  be  through 
all  coming  futurity.  His  future  eternity  is  merely  an 
elongation  of  time,  and  is  to  be  spent  upon  the  earth, 
after  the  general  conflagration,  in  all  the  pomp  of  dei- 
fied royalty,  and  in  the  gratification  of  every  bodily 
lust.  His  supremest  felicity  is  to  consist  in  acting  the 
glutton  and  the  debauchee,  free  from  bodily  infirmities 
and  a  sense  of  satiety.  He  expects  to  live  fast  with- 
out wearing.  The  fires  of  his  insatiable  appetites  are 
always  to  be  supplied  with  fuel  without  consuming 
him.  His  body  is  not  elevated  into  a  mental  sphere, 
and  made  subservient  to  the  mandates  of  a  pure,  re- 
generated, spiritual  master,  but  his  mind  is  brought 
down  into  the  filthy  lusts  of  the  body,  and  there  wal- 
lows in  the  mire  of  sensuality.  His  religion  resides 
only  in  the  natural  degree  of  his  mind,  and  in  the 
most  sensual  portion  of  such  degree.  Spiritual  ideas 
are  consequently  above  his  comprehension.  He  can 
neither  smell,  touch,  taste,  hear,  or  see  them,  and, 
therefore,  they  have  no  existence  in  his  universe.  His 
intellectual  is  the  bat  of  evening :  he  knows  nothing 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  245 

of  the  "  eagle  towering  in  his  pride  of  place."  His 
residence  is  in  the  basement  story  of  humanity ;  and 
the  universal  prevalence  of  his  system  would  drag 
the  mind  down  into  a  low  plane,  restore  the  reign  of 
pantheism,  the  dance  of  satyrs,  and  the  dalliancea  of 
syrens. 

He  exhibits  to  the  world  a  present,  active  religious 
zeal,  and  compasses  sea  and  land  to  make  proselytes 
to  his  faith  ;  but  his  mission  is  that  of  the  swindler  and 
the  cheat :  he  goes  with  a  lie  in  his  mouth,  and  labors 
only  to  enlarge  his  own  borders,  and  build  up  and 
strengthen  his  own  dominions,  and  pander  to  his  own 
pleasures.  Selfish  and  sensual  himself,  he  appeals  to 
all  that  is  selfish  and  sensual  in  those  he  hopes  to  make 
the  victims  of  his  duplicity,  and  the  instruments  of  his 
ambition  and  pleasures.  He  belongs  to  the  external 
and  the  ultimate  :  he  is  all  rind — all  kernel — all  husk. 
He  delights  in  literal  constructions.  The  sentence  of 
death  passed  upon  Adam  meant  only  the  death  of  his 
external  body,  because  Adam  could  be  nothing  unless 
in  connection  with  this  body.  The  way  in  which  he 
speaks  of  the  propagation  of  the  Lord's  Divine  Human 
is  natural  and  gross  to  a  shocking  degree.  They  have 
no  spiritual  idea  of  the  production  of  a  Human  by  "  tho 
virtue  of  the  Most  High,"  into  which  the  Lord  could  en- 
ter, and  with  which  he  could  form  a  complete  union  for 
the  purposes  of  salvation.  The  Immaculate  Conception 
was  neither  more  nor  less  than  an  ordinary  case  of 
generation — nothing  higher  than  the  fabled  intercourse 
of  the  heathen  gods  with  the  daughters  of  men.  The 
god  of  his  conception  is  carnal  and  sensual.  The  Jews 
wore  condemned  for  not  doing  the  works  of  Abraham, 


246  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

and  these  consisted  in  having  a  plurality  of  wives  and 
concubines.  The  heavens  are  nothing  more  than  one 
or  more  earths  purified  by  fire,  and  it  has  gone  through 
this  process  merely  that  it  may  be  a  place  for  the  prop- 
agation of  spirits  for  earthly  tabernacles  elsewhere  be- 
gotten. Thus  time  and  eternity  are  but  the  unvary- 
ing cycles  of  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  and  of  worldly 
grandeur,  and  earth  and  heaven  but  the  vast  recepta- 
cles of  the  debauchee  and  the  strumpet;  and  as  all 
who  do  "  the  works  of  Abraham"  are  to  become  gods, 
he  is  destined  to  be  the  greatest  god  who  has  the  larg- 
est harem  and  claims  paternity  to  the  greatest  number 
of  bastards. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Prevalence  of  Polygamy. — Its  Effects  on  Population. — Arguments  in 
its  Favor. — Its  Effects  on  Morals. — Frightful  Licentiousness. — Its 
Influence  on  the  first  Wife. — Divisions  and  Hatred  in  Families. 

As  a  matter  of  civil  polity,  it  would  seem,  at  this 
age  of  the  world,  as  though  the  founders  of  communi- 
ties and  states  might  regard  polygamy  as  a  settled 
question.  It  existed  among  the  Jews,  \vith  other  ques- 
tionable practices,  by  divine  permission,  on  account  of 
the  hardness  of  their  hearts.  The  fruits  of  polygamy 
among  them  were  such  as  might  readily  be  supposed 
by  any  one  knowing  any  thing  of  the  relation  of  cause 
and  effect.  Each  individual  case  presents  a  picture 
of  family  dissensions,  divisions,  and  misery.  Sarah,  af- 
ter giving  Hagar  to  Abraham  (not  by  divine  command, 
as  Smith  would  have  his  dupes  believe),  turns  her 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  347 

oil',  after  the  birth  of  Ishmael,  in  a  fit  of  jealousy  and 
rage. 

"  The  increasing  wealth  of  the  Hebrews  under  the 
patriarchal  government,  which  forwarded  its  temporal 
power,  was,  however,  morally  counteracted  in  its  influ- 
ence by  polygamy,  the  fatal  tendency  of  which  was 
soon  discovered  in  the  domestic  misery  distracting  the 
family  and  embittering  the  days  of  the  fondest,  as  he 
was  the  most  unfortunate  of  fathers.  The  jealousies 
of  the  sisters,  Rachel  and  Leah,  for  supremacy  in  their 
husband's  affections,  and  the  contentions  of  the  sons 
of  Bilhah  and  of  Zilpah,  produced  those  dark  divisions 
which  finally  ended  in  the  expulsion  of  Joseph. 

"  The  envious  brothers,  who  hated  Joseph  for  his 
virtues,  who  meditated  his  murder,  sold  him  to  slave- 
ry, &c.,  were  such  sons  and  brothers  as  Oriental  des- 
potism produces  down  to  the  present  day— -where  wom- 
an is  still  the  servant  and  man  the  master,  and  where 
polygamy  is  still  the  ruling  institution  of  the  land." 
( Woman  and  her  Master,  vol.  i.,  p.  56.) 

No  nation  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  in  which  po- 
lygamy has  existed  as  a  part  of  its  political  or  religious 
institutions,  has  exhibited  a  permanent  degree  of  vigor 
or  prosperity.  It  did  not  prevail,  except  in  one  or  two 
extraordinary  instances,  among  the  Greeks,  nor  at  all 
among  the  Romans  until,  for  a  period,  during  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Empire.  The  modern  nations  of  Eu- 
rope are  free  from  this  scourge.  It  belongs  now  to  the 
indolent  and  opium-eating  Turks  and  Asiatics,  the  mis- 
erable Africans,  the  North  American  savages,  and  the 
Latter-day  Saints.  It  is  the  offspring  of  lust,  and  its 
legitimate  results  are  soon  manifest  in  the  rapid  degen- 
eracy of  races. 


248  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 


The  reader  is  ready  to  ask,  To  what  extent  does  it 
prevail  and  how  does  it  work  with  the  Saints  ?  Are 
the  ordinary  laws,  and  cause  and  effect,  suspended,  to 
accommodate  the  modern  prophet  and  his  disciples  ? 
Does  it  increase  population,  purify  morals,  improve  the 
race,  and  produce  happiness  ? 

Polygamy  is  now  fastened  upon  the  Mormon  com- 
munity as  tenaciously  as  the  shirt  of  poor  Nessus, 
which  Hercules  found  far  easier  to  put  on  than  tear  off. 
About  one  fourth  of  the  adult  male  population  are  po- 
lygamists,  varying  in  the  number  of  their  wives  from 
two  up  to  fifty.  The  priesthood,  and  especially  that 
portion  who  hold  all  the  power,  and  control  nearly  all 
the  wealth  of  the  community,  have  the  largest  harems. 
Larger  numbers  would  undoubtedly  enter  into  it  but 
for  the  scarcity  of  women  and  the  want  of  means  to 
support  them.  The  census  of  1851  disclosed  the  fact 
that  there  were  698  more  males  than  females  in  the 
Territory.  Subsequent  emigrations  have  not  probably 
much  changed  this  proportion.  For  each  man  to  have 
two  wives  would  require  twice  as  many  females  as 
males.  Of  course  it  follows  that,  where  the  chief  ba- 
shaws have  from  ten  to  fifty  in  their  harems,  large 
numbers  can  not  have  even  one. 

The  effect  upon  population  is  decidedly  deleterious. 
The  prophet  Joseph  had  over  forty  wives  at  Nauvoo, 
and  the  rest  of  the  priesthood  had  various  numbers, 
corresponding  to  their  standing  and  inclinations ;  and 
nearly  all  the  children  of  these  polygamous  marriages 
died  at  that  place ;  indeed,  it  is  alleged  by  Mormons 
that  not  one  was  taken  to  Utah.  Brigham  Young  has 
thirty  children,  of  whom  eight  are  by  his  first  and  sec- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  349 

end  lawful  wives ;  the  remaining  twenty-two  arc  by 
his  spirituals.  He  has  about  fifty  wives,  some  of  whom 
were  widows  of  Joseph  Smith,  and  are  probably  past 
the  time  of  having  children ;  but,  supposing  him  to 
have  thirty  who  are  capable  of  having  issue-— which  is 
below  the  true  number  —  the  twenty-two  children 
would  be  less  than  one  child  to  a  concubine.  If  each 
of  these  degraded  females  could  have  been  the  honored 
wife  of  one  husband,  the  aggregate  number  of  children, 
according  to  the  usual  average  of  four  in  a  family, 
would  be  one  hundred  and  twenty,  showing  a  loss  in 
population  of  ninety-eight. 

The  children  are  subject  to  a  frightful  degree  of  sick- 
ness and  mortality.  This  is  the  combined  result  of 
the  gross  sensuality  of  the  parents,  and  want  of  care 
toward  their  offspring.  As  a  general  rule,  these  saint- 
ly pretenders  take  as  little  care  of  their  wives  as  of 
their  children  ;  and  of  both,  less  than  a  careful  farmer 
in  the  States  would  of  his  cattle ;  and  nowhere  out  of 
the  "  Five  Points"  in  New  York  city  can  a  more  filthy, 
miserable,  neglected-looking,  and  disorderly  rabble  of 
children  be  found  than  in  the  streets  of  Great  Salt 
Lake  City.  The  Governor,  again,  whose  attention  to 
his  multifarious  family  we  are  bound  to  suppose  great- 
er than  the  average,  affords  a  fair  illustration.  He 
was  twice  lawfully  married,  and  has  had  eight  legiti- 
mate children,  who  are  all  living.  He  has  had  a  largo 
number  of  children  by  his  concubines — no  one  knows 
how  many  —  it  is  only  known  that  there  are  only 
twenty-two  surviving.  These  females  do  not  reside  in 
the  "  Governor's  house,"  so  called,  but  in  different  es- 
tablishments, from  one  up  to  a  dozen  in  a  place ;  and 
L2 


250  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

their  children  can  only  have  the  care  of  one  parent. 
It  would  be  too  great  a  tax  upon  his  time  to  render 
the  same  care  and  attention  to  the  children  of  these 
separate  families  as  is  bestowed  in  a  single  family, 
where  there  is  a  union  of  affection  and  interests.  In 
cases  where  the  wives  and  children  are  all  under  one 
roof,  the  total  disruption  of  all  domestic  ties  and  har- 
mony produce  the  same  result.  It  would,  therefore, 
seem  that  the  boasted  increase  of  population  from  this 
polluted  source  bids  fair,  under  the  just  disposings  of 
Providence,  to  be  a  decided  failure. 

The  moralists  of  Salt  Lake  exhibit  some  strange 
mental  obliquities  in  defense  of  polygamy.  The  fol- 
lowing, from  a  letter  of  "W".  "W.  Phelps  to  the  New  York 
Herald,  dated  May,  1852,  is  quite  popular  with  the 
Saints : 

"  If  you  have  not  received  a  communication  from 
Dr.  J.  M.  Bernhisel,  on  the  plurality  of  wives,  being  a 
dialogue  between  Judge  Brochus  and  the  King's  Fool, 
call  on  him  for  it,  and  let  the  people  have  it,  and  I 
think  your  one- wife  system  will  sing  as  small  as  our 
racing  (rilpins,  or  '  dirty  cotton  court.'  Of  two  evils, 
a  Mormon  chooses  neither,  but  goes  in  for  all  good  and 
more  good ;  which,  if,  as  Solomon  said,  a  good  wife  is 
a  good  thing,  then  the  more  you  have  the  more  good 
you  have ;  so  that  when  the  suffering  female  kind  over 
the  great  globe  are  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  '  the 
daughters  of  kings  are  among  the  Lord's  honorable 
wives  in  heaven'  (Psalm  xlv.),  'and  on  the  right  hand 
the  queen  in  gold  of  Ophir,'  you  will  hear  of  more  hon- 
orable women  clinging  to  the  holy  priesthood  than  you 
ever  thought  of,  or  a  narrow-contracted  Christian  cler- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  251 

gy  drove  into  corruption  by  night-closetings  because 
their  deeds  are  evil." 

The  Emperor  Vitellius  reasoned  in  the  same  way  in 
regard  to  a  good  dinner,  and  usually  tickled  his  throat 
with  a  feather,  and  threw  up  what  he  had  eaten,  in 
order  to  dine  over  again.  This  convenient  rule  would 
give  a  wife  a  score  of  husbands.  Upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple, a  man  should  have  as  many  heads  as  a  hydra, 
as  many  arms  as  Briareus,  and  as  many  legs  as  a 
spider ;  and  Nature  was  a  niggard  of  her  favors  when 
she  made  him  up. 

The  argument,  however,  most  relied  on  in  support 
of  the  system  is,  that  it  tends  to  good  morals,  by  taking 
away  the  inducements  to  unlawful  pleasures ;  that, 
inasmuch  as  a  man  has  as  many  wives  as  he  pleases, 
he  has  no  temptation  to  wander  in  forbidden  paths. 
They  even  go  so  far  as  to  claim  that  it  is  the  only  sys- 
tem of  domestic  polity  by  which  purity  can  be  pre- 
served. In  following  out  this  idea,  they  are  indus- 
trious in  gathering  up  and  publishing  in  the  Deseret 
News  the  numerous  cases  of  seduction,  adultery,  and 
elopement  occurring  in  the  States,  which  find  their  way 
into  the  public  prints,  and  are  fond  of  contrasting  the 
purity  of  morals  in  Utah  in  this  respect  with  these 
irregularities,  and  with  the  tolerated  houses  of  ill  fame 
in  the  great  cities  of  the  Old  and  New  "World.  This 
is  decidedly  a  fair  specimen  of  Mormon  logic ;  and  re- 
minds one  of  an  inhabitant  of  the  ancient  seas,  of 
which  we  have  only  the  fossil  remains,  called  some- 
times the  Ink-bag,  which  had  the  art  to  conceal  itself 
by  ejecting  a  black  fluid. 

Upon  this  basis,  it  is  very  easy  to  purify  the  morals 


252  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

of  a  people  by  civil  enactments.  The  legislator  wise 
enough  to  legalize  bigamy,  burglary,  forgery,  perjury, 
theft,  and  murder,  would  do  away  with  the  necessity 
of  penitentiaries  and  criminal  codes.  The  people  who 
had  the  rare  privilege  of  doing  these  things  according 
to  law,  would  be  better  off  than  the  ancient  Spartans. 
They  were  allowed  to  steal,  provided  the  theft  was 
committed  in  a  sly,  artful  manner ;  but  under  the 
Mormon  improvement,  the  burglar  could  pick  locks 
and  break  doors  in  broad  daylight.  How  true  it  is, 
that  a  perversion  of  moral  principle  brings  a  cloud 
upon  the  reasoning  faculties !  When  the  will  is  im- 
mersed in  evil  propensities,  the  understanding  is  ready 
to  justify  the  abominations  to  which  they  lead.  The 
Saints,  while  chuckling  .over  the  secret  and  stealthy 
sins  of  Eastern  life,  are  willfully  blind  to  the  enormi- 
ties enacted  in  their  midst. 

Their  system  of  plurality  has  obliterated  nearly  all 
sense  of  decency,  and  would  seem  to  be  fast  leading  to 
an  intercourse  open  and  promiscuous  as  the  cattle  in 
the  fields.  A  man  living  in  common  with  a  dozen  dir- 
ty Arabs,  whether  he  calls  them  wives  or  concubines, 
can  not  have  a  very  nice  sense  of  propriety.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  give  a  true  account  of  the  effects  which  have 
resulted  from  this  cause,  and,  at  the  same  time,  pre- 
serve decency  of  language.  It  is  related  of  one  of  the 
English  Georges,  that,  when  he  became  old  and  sap- 
less, a  plump  maiden  was  selected  for  his  seasons  of 
repose,  and  made  to  act  the  part  of  a  warming-pan  to 
his  majesty.  The  Saints  are  progressive.  Three  in 
one  bed  sleep  warmer  than  two,  when  wood  is  scarce 
and  a  kingdom  is  to  be  built  up.  Last  year  (1852) 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  253 

they  seriously  discussed  the  subject  of  introducing  a 
new  order  into  the  Church,  by  which  the  wives  of  ab- 
sent missionaries  might  be  sealed  to  Saints  left  at 
home,  under  the  plea  that  the  important  business  of 
peopling  the  celestial  kingdoms  ought  not  to  be  inter- 
rupted. Practically,  this  would  make  no  great  differ- 
ence, as  the  proxies  now  readily  make  their  way  into 
these  half-deserted  tenements.  There  are  a  number 
of  cases  in  which  a  man  has  taken  a  widow  and  her 
daughter  for  wives  at  the  same  time.  One  has  a  wid- 
ow and  her  two  daughters.  There  are  also  instances 
of  the  niece  being  sealed  to  the  uncle ,  and  they  excite 
no  more  attention  than  any  ordinary  case.  How  far 
the  plague-spot  is  to  spread  in  this  direction  remains 
to  be  seen.  Brigham  Young  stated  in  the  pulpit,  in 
1852,  that  the  time  might  come  when,  for  the  sake  of 
keeping  the  lineage  of  the  priesthood  unbroken,  mar- 
riages would  be  confined  to  the  same  families  ;  as,  for 
instance,  the  son  of  one  mother  would  marry  th6 
daughter  of  another  by  the  same  father.  This  fact 
was  spoken  of  by  so  many  persons  as  to  preclude  all 
reasonable  doubt  of  its  truth.  Why  should  not  the 
blood  of  the  priesthood,  like  that  of  the  Incas,  be  kept 
pure  ? 

A  case  has  already  occurred,  which  shows  at  least 
an  entering  wedge  for  the  introduction  of  this  improve- 
ment upon  the  system.  One  Watt  came  over  from 
England  with  his  half-sister,  and  on  the  way  they  con- 
cluded to  enter  into  some  of  the  sublime  mysteries  of 
Mormonism.  When  they  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City, 
they  repaired  to  the  "  Governor's  house"  to  be  sealed. 
The  lady  was  fairer  than  any  at  that  time  in  Brig- 


254  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ham's  collection,  and  he  told  Watt  it  would  not  do ; 
that  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived  when  persons  so 
nearly  related  could  be  married ;  but  that  he  would 
seal  her  to  himself.  This  was  done  ;  but  Brigharn,  for 
some  reason,  like  Henry  the  Eighth  with  Catharine  of 
Cleves,  became,  in  a  day  or  two,  sick  of  the  new  sul- 
tana;  sent  for  "Watt;  told  him  he  had  reconsidered 
the  matter,  and  concluded,  on  the  whole,  that  the  orig- 
inal proposition  might  be  safely  acted  upon.  Brigham 
was  thereupon  duly  divorced,  and  Watt  married  to  his 
half-sister. 

There  has  been  some  talk  of  going  even  beyond  this, 
and  allowing  the  father  to  seal  his  own  daughter  to 
himself.  And  why  not  ?  The  same  principle  of  lit- 
eral construction,  combined  with  a  fanatical  belief  of 
the  speedy  destruction  of  the  Gentile  world,  would  jus- 
tify it.  Did  not  the  daughters  of  Lot  become  sealed 
to  their  father,  under  the  belief  that  all  mankind  had 
been  consumed  in  the  fires  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  ? 
Nature,  too,  has  already  sanctioned  it  in  the  example 
of  hens,  cattle,  and  goats.  Why  should  not  the  Saints 
act  upon  these  exemplary  precedents,  inasmuch  as  it 
has  become  so  very  important  that  both  worlds  should 
be  peopled  with  an  improved  breed  ?  The  truth  is, 
their  doctrine  of  the  anterior  existence  of  the  spirits  of 
men,  so  strenuously  taught  and  extensively  believed, 
has  had  a  strong  effect  in  obliterating  the  sentiment  of 
female  chastity.  If  the  bodies  of  men  are  tabernacles 
for  pre-existing  spirits  to  enter  into,  it  can  matter  but 
little  by  whom  they  are  begotten.  It  becomes  a  mat- 
ter of  mechanical  employment ;  and  no  matter  how 
often  the  workmen  are  changed,  so  long  as  the  article 


UTAH    AND- THE    MORMONS.  355 

is  properly  manufactured.  The  chaste  union  of  two 
minds  in  the  conjugal  relationship  becomes  thus  a 
tiling  entirely  unknown. 

The  high-priest  dignitaries  of  the  Church  are  ex- 
ceedingly skillful  in  procuring  young  girls  for  wives. 
They  inculcate  the  idea  that  elderly  members,  who 
have  been  tried  and  found  faithful,  are  surer  instru- 
ments of  salvation  than  the  young,  who  may  aposta- 
tize ;  and  as  marriage  to  one  who  remains  steadfast  to 
the  end  is  essential  to  escape  from  the  fate  of  being 
mere  angels,  a  great  many  young  women  are  fooled 
into  this  bubbling  and  seething  caldron  of  prostitution. 
Elder  Wilford  "Woodruff,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
has  a  regular  system  of  changing  his  harem.  He  takes 
in  one  or  more  young  girls,  and  so  manages,  after  he 
tires  of  them,  that  they  are  glad  to  ask  for  a  divorce, 
after  which  he  beats  the  bush  for  recruits.  He  took  a 
fresh  one,  about  fourteen  years  old,  in  March,  1853, 
and  will  probably  get  rid  of  her  in  the  course  of  the  en- 
suing summer.  These  maneuvers  are  practiced  more 
or  less  by  the  whole  gang  ;  the  girls  discarded  by 
one  become  sealed  to  others,  and  so  travel  the  entire 
rounds ;  and  when  they  accomplish  the  whole  circuit, 
and  are  ready  to  start  anew,  they  have  a  profoundly 
"  realizing  sense"  of  female  modesty,  to  say  nothing  of 
some  of  its  adjuncts. 

These  things  are  producing  results  in  the  very  vitals 
of  the  Mormon  community  as  frightful  as  the  barking 
monsters  in  the  bowels  of  Milton's  portress  to  the  in- 
fernal regions : 

"  About  her  middle  round 
A  cry  of  hell-hounds,  never  ceasing,  barked 


956  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

With  wide  Cerberean  mouths  full  loud,  and  rung 
A  hideous  peal." 

Young  men,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  find  it  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  even  one  wife,  and  run  into  excesses  ri- 
valing some  of  the  choicest  purlieus  of  Eastern  cities. 
When  the  door  of  licensed  indulgences  are  so  widely 
thrown  open  to  the  elders,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed 
that  the  young  will  look  on  with  indifference  ;  nor  can 
it  be  surprising  that  the  affair  of  Absalom  and  his  fa- 
ther's concubines  should  be  considered  and  acted  upon 
by  the  youthful  Saint  as  a  fair  precedent. 

Various  apostates  have  disclosed  the  fact  that  among 
the  Temple  mysteries  of  Morrnonism  is  a  degree  into 
which  the  most  favored  ones  are  initiated,  called  the 
"  Order  of  the  Cloistered  Saints,"  of  which  the  follow- 
ing account  is  given : 

""When  an  apostle,  high-priest,  elder,  or  scribe,  con- 
ceives an  affection  for  a  female,  and  has  ascertained 
her  views  on  the  subject,  he  communicates  confiden- 
tially to  the  prophet  his  love  affair,  and  requests  him 
to  inquire  of  the  Lord  whether  or  not  it  would  be  right 
and  proper  for  him  to  take  unto  himself  this  woman 
for  his  spiritual  wife.  It  is  no  obstacle  whatever  to 
this  spiritual  marriage  if  one  or  both  of  the  parties 
should  happen  to  have  a  husband  or  wTife  already  united 
to  them  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land. 

"  The  prophet  puts  this  singular  question  to  the 
Lord,  and  if  he  receives  an  answer  in  the  affirmative, 
which  is  always  the  case  when  the  parties  are  in  fa- 
vor with  the  president,  the  parties  assemble  in  the 
lodge-room,  accompanied  by  a  duly  authorized  admin- 
istrator, and  place  themselves  kneeling  before  the  al- 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  257 

tar.  The  administrator  commences  the  ceremony  by 
saying, 

"  '  You  separately  and  jointly,  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  do  solemnly  covenant  and  agree 
that  you  will  not  disclose  any  matter  relating  to  the 
sacred  act  now  in  progress  of  consummation,  whereby 
any  Gentile  shall  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  secret 
purposes  of  this  order,  or  whereby  the  Saints  may  suf- 
fer persecution,  your  lives  being  the  forfeit.' 

"  Then  comes  a  mock  ceremony  of  marriage,  after 
which — the  parties  leave  the  cloister,  with,  general- 
ly, a  firm  belief,  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  female,  in 
the  sacredness  and  validity  of  the  ceremonial,  and  con- 
sider themselves  as  united  in  spiritual  marriage,  the 
duties  and  privileges  of  which  are  in  no  particular  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  any  other  marriage  covenant." 

The  reader  will  naturally  ask  if  this  can  be  true. 
A  residence  of  less  than  six  months  will  be  very  apt  to 
remove  any  doubts  he  may  entertain  on  the  subject. 
If  the  husband  of  a  female  Saint  happens  to  be  Gen- 
tile, it  is  a  great  point  with  the  Mormons  to  have  her 
sealed  in  this  way  without  his  knowledge.  Her  pros- 
titution is  easily  effected,  inasmuch  as  she  is  made  to 
believe  that  it  is  necessary  to  her  salvation,  all  Gentile 
marriages  being  void. 

The  system  is  fast  proving  itself  a  terrible  whip  of 
scorpions,  from  the  lash  of  which  there  is  no  escape 
but  in  the  ultimate  disorganization  of  the  Mormon 
community.  Mankind  were  created  a  pair,  male  and 
female,  and,  in  harmony  with  such  an  origin,  political 
science  discloses  the  fact  that  males  and  females  are 
born  into  the  world  in  nearly  equal  numbers.  States 


258  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

are  made  up  of  families,  and  can  not  be  strongly  com- 
pacted where  the  family  is  not  a  unit ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  the  most  united,  enterprising,  and  efficient 
for  the  common  good  where  it  is  harmonious.  Poly- 
gamy introduces  an  element  of  disorder  into  families, 
and  saps  the  foundations  of  social  order  according  to 
the  extent  to  which  it  prevails.  On  general  principles, 
we  may  as  well  believe  a  building  will  remain  unin- 
jured by  tearing  away  its  basement  walls,  or  the  hu- 
man body  retain  its  healthy  condition  after  a  subtile 
poison  has  disorganized  its  tissues,  as  that  society  will 
flourish,  with  hatred  rankling  in  the  bosom  of  the-fam- 
ilies  of  which  it  is  composed.  It  may  be  supposed 
that  religious  fanaticism  will  do  much  to  change  and 
control  the  ordinary  current  of  human  emotions.  This 
has  had  its  influence  in  the  Mormon  community,  but 
it  is  generally  limited  and  temporary  in  its  character ; 
and  now  that  persecution,  or  that  which  was  regarded 
as  such,  has  ceased,  fanaticism  has  lost  much  of  the 
nourishment  upon  which  it  subsisted.  The  fact  is, 
the  Mormon  mind  has  greatly  cooled  of  its  primitive 
fervor ;  its  thermometer  has  fallen  below  its  first  fever 
heat ;  and  the  ordinary  causes  which  regulate  human 
conduct  have  been  quietly  resuming  their  operations. 
Many  who  at  first  practiced  or  justified  polygamy,  be- 
cause it  was  one  of  the  points  which  invited  Gentile 
persecution,  are  beginning  to  realize  that  it  is  a  nest 
of  adders,  of  which  the  sting  can  no  longer  remain  un- 
felt. 

In  Utah,  the  effect  of  the  plurality  system  is  most 
severely  felt  by  the  first  or  real  wife.  In  Turkey,  and 
other  kindred  nations,  where  polygamy  has  long  exist- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  259 

cd,  it  has  become  a  fixed  sentiment  in  the  minds  of 
men  and  women  through  the  lapse  of  ages.  "Woman 
is  there  too  much  degraded  to  be  the  companion  of 
man,  and  her  wishes  on  the  subject  are  of  no  more  ac- 
count than  of  so  many  slaves.  In  the  Mormon  com- 
munity, however,  the  case  is  different :  it  was  intro- 
duced to  gratify  the  lust  of  Smith  and  his  principal 
followers,  and  has  been  forced  upon  the  society,  in  total 
disregard  of  the  wishes  and  happiness  of  the  first  wife, 
as  well  as  in  opposition  to  the  common  sentiment  of  the 
age.  That  it  should  have  been  tolerated  at  all  is  only 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  deep  fanaticism  and  lament- 
ably lax  morality  existing  at  all  periods  among  the 
Saints. 

A  wife,  in  Utah,  can  not  live  out  half  her  days.  In 
families  where  polygamy  has  not  been  introduced,  she 
suffers  an  agony  of  apprehension  on  the  subject  which 
can  scarcely  be  conceived,  much  more  described.  There 
is  a  sad,  complaining,  suffering  look,  obvious  to  the 
most  ordinary  observer,  which  tells  the  story,  if  there 
were  no  other  evidence  on  the  subject.  In  most  cases, 
it  is  producing  premature  old  age,  and  some  have  al- 
ready sunk  into  an  early  grave  under  an  intolerable 
weight  of  affliction.  The  man,  from  the  moment  he 
makes  up  his  mind  to  bring  one  or  more  concubines 
into  the  family,  becomes  always  neglectful,  and  in 
most  cases  abusive  to  his  wife.  In  every  instance 
where  it  has  been  introduced,  it  has  totally  destroyed 
all  union  of  affection  and  interest  previously  existing. 
The  wife  has  no  further  motive  to  labor  and  economize 
for  the  family,  because  she  finds  one  or  more  intruders 
who  have  the  right  to  share  in  the  benefits  of  her  ex- 


260  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ertions ;  and  the  concubine,  for  a  similar  reason,  feels 
no  interest  and  makes  no  effort.  The  wife  hates  them 
for  interfering  with  her  comforts,  and  estranging  the 
affections  of  her  husband ;  they,  on  the  other  hand, 
hate  the  wife  and  each  other,  and  the  children  of  each 
other.  The  husband  hates  the  wife  on  whose  affections 
he  has  trampled,  and  over  whom  he  has  tyrannized, 
and  hates  each  concubine,  of  whom  he  tires  when  a 
fresh  one  is  introduced ;  and  the  children  hate  each  other 
as  cordially  as  a  band  of  half-starved  young  wolves.  It 
is  hate,  and  strife,  and  wretchedness  through  the  whole 
family  circle.  Hecate  herself,  in  her  deepest  malignity, 
could  not  have  devised  a  more  effectual  scheme  to  de- 
stroy the  happiness  of  mankind.  The  husband,  under 
the  double  influence  of  domestic  discord  and  gross  in- 
dulgence, loses  his  energy,  becomes  discouraged,  sinks 
into  the  bloated,  vulgar  debauchee,  and  affords  a  cap- 
ital illustration  of  the  truth,  that 

"  Our  pleasant  vices  are  made  the  whips  to  scourge  us." 

In  many  families  where  there  are  as  yet  no  concu- 
bines, the  wife  is  anxious  to  remove  from  this  valley 
of  Sodom,  as  well  on  her  own  account  as  to  save  her 
young  daughters  from  becoming  the  inmates  of  a  priest- 
ly harem;  and,  as  she  has  it  in  her  power  to  obtain  a 
divorce  at  any  time,  it  may  seem  strange  that  she 
should  remain  the  inmate  of  such  a  domestic  hell.  But 
a  divorce  would  be  of  no  practical  benefit  to  her.  She 
would  be  compelled  to  separate  from  her  children ;  and, 
as  she  is  powerless  to  perform  an  overland  journey  of 
over  a  thousand  miles,  to  bring  herself  within  the  pro- 
tection of  a  civilized  government,  she  must,  of  course, 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  261 

remain,  and  seek  a  precarious  livelihood,  under  the 
discouraging  pressure  of  Church  vengeance. 

Any  number  of  cases  illustrative  of  the  degrading 
licentiousness  of  the  system,  and  of  the  brutality  and 
wretchedness  which  it  produces,  might  be  mentioned. 
In  a  conversation  with  one  of  the  missionaries  (and, 
withal,  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  shrewdness),  I 
asked  him  what  the  effect  of  the  system  was  upon  the 
domestic  relations.  ""Why,"  said  he,  "you  must  be 
aware  that  human  nature  among  the  first  wives  is  op- 
posed to  it.  When  a  man's  wife  gets  a  little  old,  and 
he  takes  a  fancy  to  a  young  one,  why,  you  know,  the 
old  one  will  feel  jealous  that  she  is  to  give  way  to  the 
other ;  but  it  is  the  order  of  the  Church,  and  she  must 
submit  to  it."  This  was  accompanied  with  a  sly  leer, 
such  as  would  have  done  credit  to  a  satyr. 

A  man,  by  the  name  of  Eldridge,  was  living  with 
much  apparent  happiness  with  his  wife  at  Nauvoo,  at 
the  time  of  the  great  break  up  there.  Emma  Smith, 
the  prophet's  widow,  had  seen  enough  of  Mormonism, 
and,  having  secured  some  property  out  of  the  general 
wreck,  resolved  to  remain  in  the  States.  AVhen  the 
Saints  were  on  the  point  of  removing,  Emma  Smith 
advised  Mrs.  Eldridge  not  to  follow  her  husband  to  the 
valley  of  Great  Salt  Lake  ;  told  her  he  would  certainly 
go  into  the  plurality  order,  and  then  she  would  be  treat- 
ed with  neglect ;  that  was  the  case  with  them  all.  Mrs. 
E.  replied  that  her  husband  had  promised  her  that  he 
would  never  go  into  it ;  that  they  were  attached  to 
each  other;  and  that  she  had  the  utmost  confidence 
in  him.  They  went  on  together  to  Salt  Lake,  and,  in 
1851,  the  predictions  of  Mrs.  Smith  were  verified. 


262  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

Brigham  Young,  for  some  reason  or  other,  desired  to 
involve  Eldridge  in  the  meshes  of  spiritual  wife-ism,  and 
repeatedly  importuned  him  on  the  subject.  Eldridge 
told  him  he  was  living  very  happily  with  his  wife,  and 
that  to  bring  another  into  the  family  would  almost  kill 
her.  Young  replied  that,  if  his  wife  was  opposed  to 
the  order  of  the  Church,  "  the  quicker  she  was  damned 
the  better."  He  also  stated,  among  other  things,  that 
he  was  about  to  go  off  on  an  exploring  tour  in  the  Ter- 
ritory with  a  party  (naming  some  of  them) ;  that  he 
and  the  rest  intended  each  to  take  along  a  new  wife ; 
that  he  (Eldridge)  had  better  do  so  too,  and  they  would 
have  "  a  nice  time  of  it."  Eldridge  finally  yielded,  and 
so  worked  upcn  his  wife  as  to  compel  her  to  give  her 
consent  to  his  being  sealed  to  a  miserable  drab  selected 
for  this  occasion.  From  this  period  he  became  a  per- 
fect brute  in  the  treatment  of  his  wife ;  turned  her 
from  the  best  room  in  the  house  to  make  room  for  his 
concubine ;  and  she,  thoroughly  crushed  and  despair- 
ing, realizes  that  her  once  peaceful  and  happy  home 
has  been  changed  into  a  domestic  hell.  This  is  a  fair 
history  of  the  fate  of  the  first  wife. 

Instances  of  brutal  insensibility  on  the  part  of  the 
men  are  common,  and  excite  but  little  attention.  A 
man  connected  with  the  stage,  having  a  number  of 
wives,  came  home  one  evening  (January,  1853)  from 
rehearsing  his  part,  and  found  one  of  them  dead.  This 
trifling  circumstance,  however,  did  not  in  the  least  in- 
terfere with  his  engagement  at  the  theatre ;  he  per- 
formed his  part  that  evening ;  buried  his  deceased  wife 
the  next  day ;  and  kept  on  at  the  theatre  as  though 
nothing  extraordinary  had  happened. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  263 

It  may  excite  surprise  that  so  many  females  can  be 
found  who  are  willing  to  be  made  the  ready  instruments 
of  debauchery  ;  but  they  are  generally  young,  exceed- 
ingly ignorant,  and  are  made  to  believe  that  their  sal- 
vation depends  upon  it,  and  it  is  regarded  as  no  dis- 
grace in  the  community  in  which  they  live.  This  com- 
munity is  so  completely  isolated  as  to  form  a  world  by 
itself,  and  its  habits  and  morals  are  borrowed  from  the 
cock-pit  and  third  tier  of  more  civilized  regions.  The 
greatest  opposition  comes  from  the  first  wives :  there 
are  a  few  instances  in  which  they  advocate  it ;  but 
these  are  divorces  from  the  States,  and  are  somewhat 
familiar  with  having  "  things  in  common." 

Many  of  the  older  sealed  ones  are  women  who  have 
been  seduced  to  leave  their  husbands  and  families  in 
the  States.  These,  of  course,  become  thorough-paced 
strumpets,  and,  when  too  old  for  use,  are  noted  devotees. 
A  fair  type  of  this  class  is  a  Mrs.  Cobb,  whose  race 
would  embellish  the  pages  of  Peregrine  Pickle.  This 
woman  was  living  in  Boston  with  her  husband  and 
family  when  Brigham  Young  visited  that  city  as  a 
missionary.  He  was  at  that  time  a  good-looking  man, 
and  Madam  Cobb  made  up  her  mind  that  to  aid  Brig- 
ham  in  building  up  a  celestial  kingdom  was  far  pref- 
erable to  the  humdrum  of  her  domestic  duties.  She 
accordingly  raced  off,  taking  one  of  her  children  (a 
young  girl),  was  divorced  from  her  husband,  arid  after- 
ward duly  sealed  to  Brigham.  She  was  the  reigning 
sultana  for  a  time,  and  queened  it  with  a  high  hand ; 
but  he  finally  tired  of  her,  and  she  is  now  a  full-blown 
devotee  ;  talks  solemnly  of  being  sealed  to  Joseph  Smith 
and  other  dead  prophets ;  and  tries  hard,  by  the  extra v- 


264  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

agance  of  her  nonsense,  to  make  herself  a  mother  in 
Israel.  Her  daughter,  in  the  mean  time,  has  grown 
up  handsome  in  face,  and  accomplished  in  the  peculiar 
graces  which  belong  to  female  Mormondom.  The  moth- 
er and  daughter  deal  frequently  in  crimination  and 
recrimination  with  each  other,  calling  things  by  their 
right  names  in  choice  Billingsgate ;  and  the  parent  is 
in  a  fair  way  of  draining  to  the  bottom  that  cup  of  bit- 
terness  which  she  has  prepared  for  her  own  lips. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Book  of  Mormon. — Proofs  of  its  modern  Origin. — Its  Style. — Argu- 
ments in  Favor  of  the  System. 

THE  Book  of  Mormon  claims  to  be  "the  history  of 
the  inhabitants  of  America,  who  are  a  branch  of  the 
house  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  of  whom  the  In- 
dians are  still  a  remnant ;  but  the  principal  nation  of 
them  having  fallen  in  battle  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  cen- 
tury, one  of  their  prophets,  whose  name  was  Moroni, 
saw  fit  to  make  an  abridgment  of  their  history,  their 
prophecies,  and  their  doctrines,  which  he  engraved  on 
plates,  and  afterward  being  slain,  the  records  fell  into 
the  hands  of  his  son  Moroni,  who,  being  hunted  by  his 
enemies,  was  directed  to  deposit  them  safely  in  the 
earth,"  &c.  In  other  words,  the  Book  of  Mormon  pro- 
fesses to  be  the  Bible  of  this  ancient  people,  which  has 
been  exhumed  by  Joseph  Smith  for  the  use  of  "these 
last  days,"  and  it  is  upon  this  foundation  that  the 
whole  Mormon  structure  has  been  built. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  265 

Upon  examination,  however,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
book  itself  never  could  have  sustained  the  superincum- 
bent weight ;  it  required  certain  adjuncts,  such  as  the 
gift  of  prophecy,  seership,  miracles,  tongues,  and  other 
popular  marvels,  to  give  any  thing  like  success  to  the 
scheme. 

There  is  probably  no  book  in  the  world  which  con- 
tains within  itself  so  many  proofs  of  its  real  origin, 
and  one  but  partially  read  in  the  history  of  human 
credulity  is  struck  with  wonder  that  the  imposture 
should  have  fastened  itself  upon  such  numbers ;  and 
that,  too,  with  such  strength,  that  no  incongruity,  in- 
consistency, or  absurdity  which  can  be  pointed  out  can 
make  the  least  impression.  At  the  very  outset  we 
are  met  with  a  most  surprising  fact :  a  portion  of  the 
Israelites  are  alleged  to  have  found  their  way,  in  a 
marvelous  manner,  to  the  shores  of  America,  and  they 
and  their  descendants  write  a  long  book,  in  which 
there  is  not  one  word  of  the  Hebrew  tongue :  it  proves 
to  be  in  a  language  so  wholly  lost  as  to  require  a  mi- 
raculous translation,  through  the  aid  of  a  huge  pair  of 
spectacles.  In  addition  to  this,  not  a  single  Hebrew 
word  or  character  can  be  found  in  the  languages  of 
these  descendants  of  Israel  upon  the  American  con- 
tinent. Miracles  become  very  suspicious  characters 
when  they  start  into  existence  without  necessity  or  ap- 
parent object. 

A  reader  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  will  not  be  disposed 
to  deny,  very  strenuously,  that  the  authors  must,  at 
times,  have  possessed  the  gift  of  strange  tongues.  The 
religious  portions  are  especially  encumbered  with  gross 
grammatical  errors,  to  say  nothing  of  violations  of  good 
M 


9(3(3  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

taste.  The  common  version  of  the  Bible  contains  some 
errors  of  this  description,  but  this  was  translated  by 
men,  in  an  age  when  the  accuracies  of  language  were 
not  as  well  denned  as  at  present.  But  how  such-  mis- 
takes should  happen  in  a  translation  made  through  an 
infallible  "  Urim  and  Thummim"  is  a  mystery  which 
none  but  a  Mormon  elder  can  probably  either  explain 
or  understand.  Phrases  like  the  following  frequent- 
ly occur :  "  I  the  Lord  hath  not  forgotten  my  people ;" 
"  I  the  Lord  delighted  in  the  chastity  of  women ;" 
"  For  a  more  history  part  are  written  upon  my  other 
plates ;"  "  These  things  had  not  ought  to  be ;"  "And 
the  effects  thereof  is  poison;"  "I  ought  not  to  harrow 
in  my  desires  the  firm  decree  of  a  just  Grod."  The 
Book  of  "  Doctrines  and  Covenants"  abounds  in  simi- 
lar phrases  :  •"  And  the  spirit  of  the  body  is  the  soul  of 
man  ;"  "  Her  who  sitteth  upon  many  waters." 

The  book  contains  evidences  of  its  modern  origin  on 
almost  every  page.  The  mariner's  compass,  which  was 
not  discovered  until  the  fourteenth  century,  and  which 
made  such  a  revolution  in  commercial  enterprises  as  to 
form  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  world,  was,  it  seems, 
miraculously  made  known  to  Lehi  in  the  reign  of  Zed- 
ekiah,  king  of  Judah  : 

"And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
spake  unto  my  father  by  night,  and  commanded  him 
that  on  the  morrow  he  should  take  his  journey  into 
the  wilderness.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  as  my  fa- 
ther arose  in  the  morning,  and  went  forth  to  the  tent 
door,  to  his  great  astonishment  he  beheld  upon  the 
ground  a  round  ball,  of  curious  workmanship ;  and  it 
was  of  fine  brass.  And  within  the  ball  were  two  spin- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  267 

dies ;  and  the  one  pointed  the  way  whither  we  should 
go  into  the  wilderness."  (P.  42.) 

"And  now,  my  son,  I  have  somewhat  to  say  con- 
cerning the  thing  which  our  fathers  call  a  ball  or  di- 
rector ;  or  our  fathers  called  it  liahona,  which  is,  being 
interpreted,  a  compass;  and  the  Lord  prepared  it." 
(P.  348.) 

These  ancient  worthies  had  a  wonderful  prescience 
of  modem  terms  and  customs,  and  in  this  respect  to- 
tally outstrip  the  prophet  of  the  Old  Testament. 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  that  I  did  arm  them  with  bows 
and  with  arrows,  with  swords,  and  with  cimeters,  and 
with  clubs,  and  with  slings,  and  with  all  manner  of 
weapons  which  we  could  invent,  and  I  and  my  people 
did  go  forth  against  the  Lamanitss  to  battle."  . 

The  cimeter  is  a  Turkish  weapon,  not  known  until 
after  the  time  of  Mohammed. 

"  And  because  my  words  shall  hiss  forth,  many  of 
the  Grentiles  shall  say,  A  Bible  !  a  Bible !  we  have 
got  a  Bible,  and  there  can  not  be  any  more  Bible." 
(P.  123.) 

"  Bible"  is  a  word  which  belongs  to  modern  theolo- 
gy, to  express,  in  the  complex,  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, and  does  not  occur  in  either  of  those  books. 

So,  also,  we  have  "priestcraft,"  lawyers  "  skillful  in 
their  profession,"  "machinery"  law  "suits"  "plan 
of  redemption,"  "  dissenters"  and  a  multitude  of  oth- 
er terms  and  phrases,  which  belong  to  the  dialects  and 
customs  of  the  present  time. 

Modem  sectarian  theology  appeared  to  be  about  as 
well  known  then  as  now.  Among  other  curiosities  in 
this  department  was  a  preacher  of  universal  salvation, 


268  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


who  held  forth  to  the  great  scandal  and  annoyance  of 
more  rigid  constructionists. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  in  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  Alma  in  the  judgment-seat,  there  was  a  man 
brought  before  him  to  be  judged — a  man  who  was 
large,  and  was  noted  for  his  much  strength ;  and  he 
had  gone  about  among  the  people,  preaching  to  them 
that  which  he  termed  to  be  the  word  of  God,  bearing 
down  against  the  Church ;  declaring  unto  the  people 
that  every  priest  and  teacher  ought  to  become  popular ; 
and  they  ought  not  to  labor  with  their  hands,  but  that 
they  ought  to  be  supported  by  the  people  ;  and  he  also 
testified  unto  the  people  that  all  mankind  should  be 
saved  at  the  last  day,  and  that  they  need  not  fear  nor 
tremble,  but  that  they  might  lift  up  their  heads,  and 
rejoice ;  for  the  Lord  had  created  all  men,  and  had 
also  redeemed  all  men  ;  and,  in  the  end,  all  men  should 
have  eternal  life."  (P.  335.) 

Perhaps  the  greatest  curiosity  of  the  book  is,  that 
"  Christ  and  him  crucified"  was  preached,  and  "  bap- 
tism" administered,  and  Christian  churches  establish- 
ed, long  before  the  Christian  era.  Revivals,  and  revi- 
valists, and  protracted  meetings,  and  anxious  seats, 
were  as  well  known  among  the  Lamanites  and  Ne- 
phites  as  modern  sectarians.  The  incongruity  of  the 
thing  appears  to  have  occurred  to  Joseph  and  Rigdon, 
for  one  of  these  imaginary  preachers  is  made  to  say : 

"And  now,  my  son,  this  was  the  ministry  unto 
which  ye  were  called,  to  declare  these  glad  tidings  unto 
this  people,  to  prepare  their  minds  ;  or,  rather,  that  sal- 
vation might  come  unto  them,  that  they  may  prepare 
the  minds  of  their  children  to  hear  the  word  at  the  time 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  269 

of  his  coming.  And  now  I  will  ease  your  mind  some- 
what on  this  subject.  Behold,  you  marvel  why  these 
things  should  be  known  so  long  beforehand.  Behold, 
I  say  unto  you,  Is  not  a  soul  at  this  time  as  precious 
unto  G-od  as  a  soul  will  be  at  the  time  of  his  coming  ? 
Is  it  not  as  necessary  that  the  plan  of  redemption 
should  be  made  known  unto  this  people,  as  well  as  unto 
their  children  ?  Is  it  not  as  easy  at  this  time  for  the 
Lord  to  send  his  angel  to  declare  these  glad  tidings 
unto  us  as  unto  our  children,  or  as  after  the  time  of 
his  coming  ?"  (P.  352.) 

What  was  to  be  the  fate  of  the  precious  souls  to 
whom  this  ante-dated  Gospel  was  not  proclaimed,  this 
reverend  Nephite  does  not  give  us  to  understand  ex- 
cept by  implication. 

One  of  these  ancient  revivalists  had  a  summary 
knack  of  making  converts  :  he  promptly  knocked  them 
down  by  the  mysterious  power  with  which  he  was 
clothed,  with  as  much  facility  as  a  bowler  knocks  down 
nine-pins ;  and  not  only  so,  but  kept  them  in  durance 
generally  for  about  three  days.  They  not  only  preach- 
ed Christianity,  but,  strange  to  say,  anti-Christ  made 
his  appearance  too  :  "  But  it  came  to  pass,  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  seventeenth  year,  there  came  a  man  into 
the  land  of  Zarahemla,  and  he  was  anti-Christ,  for  he 
began  to  preach,"  &c.  (P.  322.) 

Occasionally  the  authors  discourse  on  abstruse  sub- 
jects, and,  when  they  do,  they  get  into  too  deep  wrater. 
The  following,  on  the  subject  of  the  fall  of  Adam,  put 
into  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Lehi,  is  a  fair  sample : 

"  And  now,  behold,  if  Adam  had  not  transgressed,  he 
would  not  have  fallen,  but  he  would  have  remained  in 


270  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

the  garden  of  Eden.  And  all  things  which  were  cre- 
ated must  have  remained  in  the  same  state  which  they 
were  after  they  were  created,  and  they  must  have  re- 
mained forever,  and  had  no  end.  And  they  would 
have  had  no  children ;  wherefore  they  would  have  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  innocence,  having  no  joy,  for  they 
knew  no  misery  ;  doing  no  good,  for  they  knew  no  sin. 
But  behold,  all  things  have  teen  done  in  the  wisdom 
of  Him  who  knoweth  all  things.  Adam  fell,  that  men 
might  be ;  and  men  are,  that  they  might  have  joy." 
(P.  69.) 

Curious  enough  that  sin  should  be  a  condition  prece- 
dent to  having  children !  Curious,  too,  that  a  man 
should  be  under  the  necessity  of  transacting  a  shindy 
or  two  before  he  is  capable  of  performing  a  good  ac- 
tion ! 

There  is  a  continual  effort  to  imitate  the  style  of  the 
Scriptures  which  it  is  absolutely  painful  to  read : 

"  And  now  I  say  unto  you,  that  this  is  the  order  af- 
ter which  I  am  called :  yea,  to  preach  unto  my  beloved 
brethren  ;  yea,  and  every  one  that  dwelleth  in  the 
land ;  yea,  to  preach  unto  all,  both  old  and  young,  both 
bond  and  free  ;  yea,  I  say  unto  you  the  aged,  and  also 
the  middle  aged,  and  the  rising  generation ;  yea,  to 
cry  unto  them  that  they  must  repent,  and  be  born 
again ;  yea,  thus  saith  the  Spirit,  Repent,  all  ye  ends  of 
the  earth,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  soon  at  hand ; 
yea,  the  Son  of  (rod  cometh  in  his  glory,  in  his  might, 
majesty,  power,  and  dominion."  (P.  251.) 

This  continually-strained  effort  betrays  itself,  and 
produces,  to  say  the  least,  some  very  queer  descriptions. 
A  well-sustained  battle  against  odds  is  thus  described  : 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  271 

"  But  they  fought  for  their  lives,  and  for  their  wives, 
and  for  their  children ;  therefore  they  exerted  them- 
selves, and  like  dragons  did  they  fight." 

The  following  must  have  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed : 

"And  now,  if  ye  do  not  this,  behold,  ye  are  in  our 
hands,  and  I  will  command  my  men  that  they  shall 
fall  upon  you,  and  inflict  the  wounds  of  death  in  your 
bodies,  that  ye  may  become  extinct." 

These  Nephite  philosophers  seem  to  have  been  as 
profound  in  their  knowledge  of  mental  emotions,  as 
graphic  in  their  descriptions  of  external  objects,  as  the 
following  plainly  shows : 

"  Now  if  ye  give  place  that  a  seed  may  be  planted 
in  your  heart,  behold,  if  it  be  a  true  seed,  or  a  good 
seed,  if  ye  do  not  cast  it  out  by  your  unbelief,  that  ye 
will  resist  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  behold,  it  will  begin 
to  swell  within  your  breasts ;  and  when  you  feel  these 
swelling  motions,  ye  will  begin  to  say  within  your- 
selves, it  must  needs  be  that  this  is  a  good  seed,  or 
that  the  word  is  good,  for  it  beginneth  to  enlarge  my 
soul ;  yea,  it  beginneth  to  enlighten  my  understand- 
ing ;  yea,  and  it  beginneth  to  be  delicious  to  me." 

The  following  contains  a  very  ample  "  bill  of  partic- 
ulars," but  whether  intended  as  a  description  of  tho 
"  still  small  voice"  of  Scripture,  it  is  really  difficult  to 
say  : 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  they  were  thus 
conversing  one  with  another,  they  heard  a  voice,  as  if 
it  came  out  of  heaven  ;  and  they  cast  their  eyes  round 
about,  for  they  understood  not  the  voice  which  they 
heard ;  and  it  was  not  a  harsh  voice,  neither  was  it  a 


272  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

loud  voice  ;  nevertheless,  and  notwithstanding  it  being 
a  small  voice,  it  did  pierce  them  that  did  hear  to  the 
centre,  insomuch  that  there  were  no  part  of  their  frame 
that  it  did  not  cause  to  quake  ;  yea,  it  did  pierce  them 
to  the  very  soul,  and  did  cause  their  hearts  to  burn." 

Occasionally  there  is  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  sub- 
lime passages  so  frequent  in  the  Word  of  the  Old  Test- 
ament ;  but  it  is  as  the  sound  of  the  squib  and  pop- 
gun to  the  roar  of  the  thunder  and  the  earthquake. 
Take  the  following : 

"  And  the  rocks  of  the  earth  must  rend;  and  be- 
cause of  the  groanings  of  the  earth,  many  of  the  kings 
of  the  isles  of  the  sea  shall  be  wrought  upon  to  ex- 
claim, <  The  God  of  nature  suffers  !'  "  (P.  55.) 

This  is  quite  descriptive  of  a  terrestrial  colic,  and 
these  kings,  forsooth,  were  not  permitted  to  sympathize 
with  these  distressing  symptoms  in  the  stomach  of 
mother  earth  until  wrought  upon  by  the  Spirit. 

The  following  perfect  fusillade  of  sublimities  is  in- 
tended to  be  a  prophetic  representation  of  the  phenom- 
ena that  should  take  place  at  the  Crucifixion : 

"  Yea,  at  the  time  that  he  shall  yield  up  the  ghost, 
there  shall  be  thunderings  and  lightnings  for  the  space 
of  many  hours,  and  the  earth  shall  shake  and  tremble, 
and  the  rocks  which  are  upon  the  face  of  this  earth, 
which  are  both  above  the  earth  and  beneath,  which  ye 
know  at  this  time  are  solid,  or  the  more  part  of  it  is 
one  solid  mass,  shall  be  broken  up  ;  yea,  they  shall  be 
rent  in  twain,  and  shall  ever  after  be  found  in  seams 
and  in  cracks,  and  in  broken  fragments  upon  the  face 
of  the  whole  earth ;  yea,  both  above  the  earth  and  be- 
neath." 


UTAH  AND   THE   MORMONS.  273 

In  imitation  of  that  striking  passage,  "  They  have 
sown  the  wind,  and  shall  reap  the  whirlwind,"  we  find 
the  following : 

"  And  again  he  saith,  if  my  people  shall  sow  filth- 
iness,  they  shall  reap  the  chaff  thereof  in  the  whirlwind ; 
and  the  effects  thereof  is  poison." 

Joseph  subsequently  continued  his  penchant  for  sub- 
lime efforts  in  his  revelations  : 

"  The  earth  rolls  upon  her  wings;  and  the  sun 
giveth  his  light  by  day,  and  the  moon  giveth  her  light 
by  night ;  and  the  stars  also  giveth  their  light  as  they 
roll  upon  their  wings"  &c.  (Doctrines  and  Cov- 
enants, p.  102.) 

Rolling  upon  wings  is  a  new  method  of  flying.  The 
Psalmist  should  have  written,  "  If  I  take  the  wings  of 
the  morning,  and  roll  into  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
sea." 

The  following  is  in  imitation  of  a  passage  in  the  Rev- 
elations :  "  And  the  powers  of  darkness  prevail  upon  the 
earth  among  the  children  of  men,  in  the  presence  of 
all  the  hosts  of  heaven,  which  cause th  silence  to  reign, 
and  all  eternity  is  pained,"  &c.  (Idem,  p.  127.) 

The  following  is  the  trumpet  which  is  to  be  sounded 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Saints :  "  The  heavens  shall  shake, 
and  the  earth  shall  tremble,  and  the  trump  of  Grod 
shall  sound  both  long  and  loud"  &c. 

The  polemic  reader  will  be  somewhat  curious  to 
know  what  kind  of  arguments  are  relied  upon  to  sus- 
tain the  divine  authenticity  of  such  a  book.  It  is  the 
harsh  construction  of  some,  that  it  is  far  easier  to  pro- 
duce conviction  upon  the  mass  of  mankind  in  favor  of 
a  lie  than  of  the  truth,  and  the  history  of  Mormonism 

M2 


274  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

furnishes  notable  proof  in  support  of  the  proposition. 
According  to  the  Talmud,  the  body  of  a  Jew,  though 
buried  thousands  of  miles  from  Mount  Zion,  will  wrig- 
gle itself  through  the  ground  until  it  ultimately  arrives 
at  that  desirable  point,  and  all  true  sons  of  Jacob  be- 
lieve in  the  statement.  Why  should  not  the  Saints, 
who  claim  to  be  descended  from  the  "  tribe  of  Joseph," 
believe  in  marvels  equally  wonderful,  and  prove  their 
existence  by  a  logic  which  never  fails  to  demonstrate 
what  it  undertakes  ? 

Mormonism  ignores  all  prevalent  forms  and  creeds, 
and  claims  to  form  a  complete  system  within  itself ;  it 
has  not  only  clothed  itself  in  all  the  external  parapher- 
nalia of  an  independent  hierarchy,  but  has  boldly  sent 
forth  its  champions  to  prove  itself  true,  and  its  adver- 
saries false.  Its  most  noted  and  voluminous  polemic 
author  is  Orson  Pratt,  whose  speculations  on  the  mys- 
teries of  matter  and  mind  have  already  been  noticed. 
His  arguments  will  be  mostly  found  in  a  book  entitled 
"A  Series  of  Pamphlets,  by  Orson  Pratt"  The  first 
pamphlet  of  six  pages  in  this  collection,  entitled  "Di- 
vine Authority  "  contains  a  general  summary  of  his  ar- 
gumentation, though  many  points  are  afterward  great- 
ly extended.  A  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  points  made 
by  him  will  be  sufficient  for  the  present  purpose. 

He  commences  with  receiving  a  letter  from  an  anon- 
ymous correspondent,  who  is  satisfied  that  all  prevail- 
ing creeds  are  false  ;  that  all  preachers  and  teachers  of 
the  day  are  without  authority ;  that  "  the  translations 
of  the  Scriptures,  being  done  without  inspiration,"  are 
uncertain ;  and  that,  if  the  Saints  have  not  "  the  au- 
thority to  teach,  interpret,"  <fec.,  no  one  else  has  it ; 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  275 

concluding  with  a  desire  that  the  Mormons  may  bo 
proved  to  be  in  possession  of  these  gifts.  Mr.  Pratt 
gravely  assumes  the  positions  of  his  correspondent  to 
be  true,  and,  from  this  convenient  starting-point  (which, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  would  distance  all  pur- 
suers), leisurely  walks  over  the  course. 

In  the  first  division  of  his  subject,  he  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  a  "  strong  presumptive  evidence 
Mr.  Smith  was  sent  of  God,"  because  other  churches 
do  not  profess  to  have  inspired  apostles,  prophets,  &c., 
but  the  Latter-day  Saints  do  profess  to  have  them,  with 
authority  to  administer  all  the  ordinances ;  because  Mr. 
Smith  has  successfully  patterned  after  ancient  forms 
in  the  paraphernalia  of  his  Church,  and  because  his 
doctrines  are  pure  and  infallible.  This  is  a  curious 
string  of  professions  and  assumptions,  which  seems  to 
leave  the  reasoner  exactly  where  he  started.  It  may 
well  excite  a  smile  that  a  man  should  be  considered  as 
divinely  commissioned  because  he  has  made  certain 
professions  and  patterned  after  ancient  forms,  and 
provoke  a  sneer  that  Mr.  Pratt,  with  one  wife  and  a 
dozen  concubines,  should  be  considered  as  pure  as  the 
man  who  has  not  violated  the  laws  of  the  land  and  the 
moral  sense  of  Christendom  in  his  domestic  relations. 

In  the  second  place,  he  comes  to  the  same  conclusion 
because  Smith  declares  that  the  angel  Moroni  appear- 
ed to  him,  and  revealed  the  place  where  he  had  con- 
cealed the  Book  of  Mormon  :  and  this  is  claimed  to  be 
a  fulfillment  of  the  prophetic  vision  of  John  :  "And  I 
saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having 
the  everlasting  Grospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth,"  &c.  But  how  this  can  be,  on  a  literal 


276  UTAH    AND    THE   MORMONS. 

construction,  which  is  the  Mormon  rule,  would  seem  to 
be  very  puzzling.  The  Book  of  Mormon  should  have 
come  out  of  the  air  instead  of  the  ground  to  fulfill  the 
vision.  It  seems,  too,  the  angel  seen  by  John  had  the 
Gospel  himself,  and  was  to  preach  it  himself,  and  he 
did  proclaim  it  with  a  loud  voice  to  all  nations ;  whereas 
the  imaginary  angel  of  Smith  appeared  to  him  and  his 
coadjutors  in  secret,  stealthy  interviews,  something  very 
like  the  studied  concealment  of  a  gang  of  thieves  or 
counterfeiters ;  and  these  unpromising  appearances  are 
followed  by  translating  the  newly-discovered  book  by 
the  popular  wizardcraft  of  looking  through  peep-stones, 
while  the  plates  are  carefully  concealed  from  the  vul- 
gar gaze. 

The  third  position  is,  that  Smith's  mission  was  di- 
vine, because  he  declares  "  that  Peter,  James,  and  John 
came  to  him  in  the  capacity  of  ministering  angels,  and, 
by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  ordained  him  an  apostle,  and 
commanded  him  to  preach,"  &c. ;  and  the  reasoner  is 
sure,  very  sure,  that  there  is  something  transcending 
human  thought  in  all  this  ;  that  Mr.  Smith  could  never 
have  originated  such  an  idea.  It  would,  indeed,  be 
wonderful,  had  not  hundreds  of  the  inmates  of  Bedlam 
forestalled  the  Mormon  prophet  in  hatching  similar 
absurdities. 

The  fourth  proof  is,  that  Smith  professes  to  have 
received,  "  through  revelation  and  commandment  from 
God,  a  dispensation  for  the  gathering  of  the  Saints 
from  all  nations."  Mr.  Pratt  undertakes  to  prove  from 
Scripture  that  the  people  of  God  were  to  be  brought 
out  from  the  Gentiles,  and  gathered  together  in  one 
place,  and  reasons  that  Smith,  an  unpracticed  marks- 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS.  277 

man,  never  could  have  hit  so  happy  an  idea  by  a  chance 
shot.  Less  clever  rogues  than  the  prophet  Joseph  would 
have  stumbled  upon  this  idea  without  supernatural  aid. 
How  else  could  he  have  his  followers  so  completely  un- 
der his  influence,  or  collect  his  tithes,  or  keep  them 
from  apostacy,  or  so  securely  indulge  in  a  community 
of  wives,  and  other  licentious  practices  ?  Without  the 
gathering,  the  adventure  would  have  lacked  one  of 
its  most  essential  elements  of  success. 

The  sixth  subdivision  of  the  argument  exhibits  more 
than  any  other  the  pains  which  have  been  taken  to 
bring  the  discovery  of  the  Mormon  Bible  within  the 
letter  of  ancient  prophecy.  As  a  train  of  argument,  it 
will  be  found  to  hold  together  with  the  tenacity  usually 
ascribed  to  a  rope  of  sand.  It  will  be  recollected  that 
the  Saints  are  strict  literalists,  and  claim  that  certain 
prophecies  were  literally  fulfilled  in  the  discovery  of 
this  book.  A  brief  examination  will  show  that  these 
prophetic  declarations  must  be  stretched,  like  pieces  of 
India-rubber,  to  an  extraordinary  degree  of  tenuity,  in 
order  to  cover  the  requisite  surface.  In  Isaiah  xxix. 
occurs  the  following  passage  : 

"  And  thou  shalt  be  brought  down,  and  shalt  speak 
out  of  the  ground ;  and  thy  speech  shall  be  low  out  of 
the  dust,  and  thy  voice  shall  be  as  of  one  that  hath  a 
familiar  spirit,  out  of  the  ground,  and  thy  speech  shall 
whisper  out  of  the  dust." 

Mr.  Pratt  reasons  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  refer- 
red to  in  this  declaration,  because  it  was  taken  out  of 
the  ground.  The  tribe  of  Joseph,  he  says,  "  have  been 
brought  down  like  all  the  rest  of  Israel ;  but  the  words 
of  their  ancient  prophets  'speak  out  of  the  ground'  and 


978  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

'  whisper  out  of  the  dust'  to  the  ears  of  the  present 
generation,  revealing,  in  a  very  'familiar''  manner,  the 
history  of  ancient  America."  Now,  on  reading  the 
context,  it  will  be  found  that  all  this  is  spoken  of  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  "besieged  and  brought  into  a  state  of 
abasement  by  an  army,  and,  literally  understood,  has 
as  little  to  do  with  a  book  as  with  moonshine. 

Again,  it  is  said  in  the  same  chapter  of  Isaiah: 
"  And  the  vision  of  all  is  become  unto  you  as  the  words 
of  a  book  that  is  sealed,  which  men  deliver  to  one  that 
is  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee  ;  and  he  says, 
I  can  not,  for  it  is  sealed ;  and  the  book  is  delivered  to 
him  that  is  not  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee ; 
and  he  saith,  I  am  not  learned." 

To  bring  his  scheme  within  this  prophecy,  Smith  or 
Rigdon  inserted  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  the  following  : 

"  But  behold,  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  Lord  (rod 
shall  say  unto  him  to  whom  he  shall  deliver  the  book, 
Take  these  words  which  are  not  sealed,  and  deliver  them 
to  another,  that  he  may  show  them  to  another,  that  he 
may  show  them  unto  the  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I 
pray  thee  ;  and  the  learned  shall  say,  Bring  hither  the 
book,  and  I  will  read  them ;  and  now,  because  of  the 
glory  of  the  world,  and  to  get  gain,  will  they  say  this, 
and  not  for  the  glory  of  (rod ;  and  the  man  shall  say, 
I  can  not  bring  the  book,  for  it  is  sealed ;  then  shall 
the  learned  say,  I  can  not  read  it." 

After  Smith  discovered  the  glyph  which  has  already 
been  spoken  of,  he  transcribed  some  of  the  characters, 
and  sent  them  to  Professor  Anthon  by  Martin  Harris. 
Neither  Anthon  nor  other  mortal,  learned  or  unlearned, 
of  course,  could  read  them ;  and  this  is  claimed  as  a 


UTAH   AND  THE    MORMONS.  279 

fulfillment  of  prophecy.  It  may  be  a  quasi  fulfillment 
of  Smith's  own  prophecy  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  but 
it  requires  a  vast  deal  of  pulling  and  stretching  to  bring 
it  within  that  of  Isaiah.  In  the  latter,  the  book  itself 
was  delivered  to  the  man  of  learning,  which  is  evident 
from  his  answer,  "  it  is  sealed,"  referring  to  the  book, 
arid  not  to  any  portion  of  the  words ;  and  not  only  so, 
but  this  book  was  not  delivered  to  the  unlearned  man 
until  afterward,  who,  in  fact,  never  read  it  at  all ;  and 
it  was  only  the  blind  and  deaf  that  finally  penetrated 
the  mystery.  It  may  be  asked  why  Smith  did  not 
more  nearly  conform  the  Book  of  Mormon  in  this  re- 
spect to  the  prophecy ;  but  he  could  not,  because,  to 
have  delivered  Spaulding's  "  Manuscript  Found"  or  the 
glyph  to  Anthon,  would  have  broken  the  egg  before  the 
cockatrice  was  fairly  hatched,  and  ended  the  imposture 
at  once. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  argument  ever  brought 
forth  in  support  of  any  thing  divine  or  human  is,  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  predicts  that  it  should  be  shown 
to  three  witnesses,  and  that  the  prophet  actually  found 
the  requisite  number  ;  and  Mr.  Pratt,  in  great  apparent 
simplicity,  says,  "  Now  an  impostor  might  indeed  pre- 
dict the  raising  of  THREE  WITNESSES,  but  he  could  not 
call  down  an  angel  from  heaven,  in  the  presence  of 
these  witnesses,  to  fulfill  his  predictions."  True  enough ; 
.but  what  was  to  prevent  the  impostor  from  procuring 
three  or  more  lying  witnesses,  ready  to  swear  that  black 
was  white,  for  the  purpose  of  sharing  in  the  proceeds 
of  the  imposture  ? 

The  eleventh  proof  of  divine  authority  is  the  power 
to  perform  miracles  claimed  by  the  prophet  and  his 


280  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

followers.  Decidedly  the  most  bold  feature  of  Mormon- 
ism,  and  one  which  shows  how  strongly  the  originators 
must  have  relied  upon  popular  credulity,  is  the  pre- 
tense of  possessing  the  miraculous  signs  following  true 
discipleship,  as  described  in  the  following  passage  from 
Mark : 

"And  these  signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe  :  In 
my  name  shall  they  cast  out  devils ;  they  shall  speak 
with  new  tongues ;  they  shall  take  up  serpents ;  and 
if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt  them ; 
they  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  re- 
cover." 

The  claims  in  favor  of  the  marvelous  skill  possessed 
by  the  celebrated  Doctor  Caustic,  of  whom  it  was 
said, 

"  To  raise  a  dead  dog  he  was  able, 
Though  laid  in  quarters  on  the  table, 
And  lead  him  yelping  round  the  town, 
With  two  legs  up  and  two  legs  down," 

do  not  exceed  those  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  in  mirac- 
ulous gifts. 

The  leaders  have  literally  performed  some  of  these 
prodigies,  to  the  entire  conviction  of  all  true  Saints. 
As  may  be  readily  supposed,  the  mass  of  Mormon  mir- 
acles consist  in  healing  diseases  ;  and,  in  proof  of  these 
notable  performances,  they  have  a  string  of  certificates 
as  long  as  the  tail  of  a  kite — almost  as  long,  indeed,  as 
the  vender  of  a  quack  medicine  appends  to  his  univer- 
sal panacea.  Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  powerful 
agency  of  the  imagination  in  the  curing  or  ameliora- 
tion of  disease,  and  hence  it  is  less  difficult  to  impose 
upon  the  credulity  of  the  multitude  by  extraordinary 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  281 

cures  than  almost  any  other  form  of  legerdemain.  I 
never  heard,  however,  of  any  of  these  miracle-mongers 
who  were  willing  to  handle  living  rattlesnakes,  or 
swallow  doses  of  arsenic  or  strychnine  to  test  their 
boasted  powers.  Indeed,  so  little  confidence  have  they 
in  the  miraculous  texture  of  their  stomachs,  that,  in 
their  penal  statutes  of  1852,  they  impose  a  heavy  fine 
on  the  druggist  who  shall  "  sell  and  deliver  any  arsenic, 
corrosive  sublimate,  prussic  acid"  &c.,  without  the 
word  poison  written  on  it ;  nay,  more,  they  have  man- 
ifested an  uncommon  degree  of  apprehension  on  the 
subject  by  imposing,  in  section  107  of  the  same  act,  a 
severe  punishment  upon  the  physician  who  shall  ad- 
minister poison  as  a  medicine  without  fully  explaining 
the  nature  and  effect  to  the  patient,  and  obtaining  his 
free  consent  if  over  age,  or  of  his  parent  or  guardian 
if  a  minor. 

The  fact  that  the  amount  of  mortality  in  Utah  has 
been  next  to  that  of  Louisiana  ;  that  their  cemetery  is 
filled  with  graves,  from  the  infant  of  a  span  long  to 
the  maturity  of  manhood  ;  that  all  kinds  of  medical 
practice  are  in  vogue  among  them,  from  Thomsonian- 
ism  up,  or  down,  through  all  the  patliies,  forms  a 
standing  contradiction  to  all  their  pretenses  in  this  re- 
spect. Yet  they  are  never  in  want  of  an  argument 
sufficiently  ingenious  to  impose  upon  those  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  have  faith.  If  the  man  dies,  why  then 
his  time  had  come,  and  it  was  of  no  use  to  pour  on 
the  consecrated  oil,  or  lay  on  the  hands.  So  the  world 
goes.  Quackery  is  the  most  powerful  lever  yet,  either 
in  medicine  or  theology. 

That  they  should  have  had  great  success  in  gaming 


282  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

credit  for  these  marvelous  gifts  can  not  appear  strange 
to  one  who  is  aware  of  the  great  popular  delusions 
prevalent  in  community.  Who  has  not  listened  to  sto- 
ries of  haunted  dwellings — of  mysterious  sights  seen, 
and  voices  heard  ?  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  juggling 
impositions  of  fortune-tellers,  of  witches  and  wizards, 
who,  by  means  of  cards,  peep-stones,  or  something 
else,  make  thousands  believe  in  their  ability  to  unrav- 
el present  perplexities  and  read  future  events — to  dis- 
cover secreted  goods,  and  prognosticate  happy  match- 
es and  embryo  fortunes  ?  All  these  things,  and  more 
like  them,  are  known  to  exist,  and  to  command  exten- 
sive belief;  but  no  one  can  be  fully  sensible  of  the 
power  and  extent  of  this  human  element  until  he  sees 
the  subjects  of  them  gathered  together,  and  concentrat- 
ed, as  it  were,  in  a  burning  focus  by  the  aid  of  relig- 
ious sanction  in  the  Valley  of  Salt  Lake. 

The  only  other  "  sign"  which  they  pretend  to  pat- 
ronize to  any  considerable  extent  is  the  gift  of  tongues, 
and  in  this  they  exhibit  all  the  adroitness  which  prac- 
tice can  give.  Many  readers  will  not  fail  to  recollect 
the  gibberish  termed  "  hog-Latin"  so  common  as  an 
amusement  with  boys  at  school,  some  of  whom  are  very 
expert  in  this  exercise,  and  will  roll  off  the  unmeaning 
di*alect  with  great  ease  and  fluency.  This  juvenile 
sport  has  been  carefully  revised  and  greatly  enlarged 
by  the  proselyting  members  of  the  Mormon  communi- 
ty. No  part  of  their  jugglery  is  more  transparent  than 
this,  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  it  has  been  one  of  their 
most  efficient  instruments  of  success.  Hundreds  will 
now  gravely  date  their  conversion  from  the  period  when 
they  first  heard  the  exercise  of  this  marvel. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  283 

A  very  cursory  examination  of  the  pamphlets  wo 
have  been  considering  will  be  found  amply  sufficient 
to  satisfy  any  one  of  their  scope  and  character.  A  train 
of  reasoning  similar  to  that  which  has  been  adopted — 
which  is  made  up  of  inferences  from  mere  assump- 
tions, with  ad  captandum  applications  of  Scripture — 
would  sustain  any  other  system  just  as  well  as  the 
one  in  the  support  of  which  Mr.  Pratt  has  so  severely 
taxed  his  powers.  In  this  style  of  reasoning,  the  au- 
thor has  proved  himself  a  perfect  knight-errant  in  po- 
lemic warfare,  cutting  to  the  right  and  left  with  reck- 
less desperation.  A  bull  in  a  china-shop  could  not 
produce  a  more  terrible  smash,  or  effect  more  inextri- 
cable confusion.  In  Tract  No.  3,  for  instance,  he  has 
bastardized  all  Christendom  for  the  last  seventeen 
hundred  years,  by  satisfactorily  proving  that,  since  the 
first  century  after  Christ,  there  has  been  no  one  au- 
thorized to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  or  admin- 
ister any  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Church.  Curious 
enough  that  such  a  sentence  should  be  pronounced  by 
the  jaded  voluptuary  who  sports  a  harem  by  divine 
command ! 

The  whole  argument  is  addressed  to  the  weakest 
points  of  the  human  mind — it  is  all  outside.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  attempt  at  internal  evidence.  Trfere 
is  no  pretense  of  the  development  of  a  single  new  spir- 
itual truth,  or  of  any  advance  in  the  natural  or  meta- 
physical sciences — not  even  the  display  of  a  beautiful 
or  sublime  idea.  The  whole  cui  bono,  or  utility  of 
such  a  scheme,  is  left  untouched,  and  the  world  is 
called  upon  to  embrace  Mormonism  because  Smith 
pretends  to  have  taken  the  Book  of  Mormon  from  the 


284  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ground;  because  he  has  found  three  witnesses;  be- 
cause Mr.  Anthon  could  not  translate  the  strange 
characters  submitted  to  his  inspection  ;  because  Smith 
has  copied  after  ancient  forms  in  his  machinery  of 
apostles,  elders,  &c. ;  because  he  and  they  pretend  to 
the  gift  of  prophecy  ;  and  because  they  also  pretend  to 
the  performance  of  miracles,  and  have  annexed  the 
usual  certificates ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Efforts  to  make  female  Converts. — Mode  of  conducting  public  Wor- 
ship.—  Sermon  by  Parley  P.  Pratt. — Schools. — Deseret  News. — 
Doctor  Richards.  —  Deseret  Almanac,  by  W.  W.  Phelps.  —  Lan- 
guage used  in  public  Discourses. 

THE  design  of  the  leading  Mormons  in  gathering 
their  followers  into  one  place  was,  as  will  readily  be 
seen,  to  isolate  them  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  and 
thus  the  more  easily  to  subject  them  to  their  govern- 
ment. Polygamy,  though  at  first  introduced  for  the 
sole  reason  that  the  prophet  Smith  was  a  licentious 
man,  is  now  sought  to  be  extended  as  a  matter  of  pol- 
icy, because  it  renders  this  isolation  the  more  complete. 
Tlie  man  in  Utah  who  becomes  a  polygamist  becomes 
a  fixture,  because  he  is  then  still  more  unfit  for  any 
other  community.  In  reference  to  this  policy,  the 
Mormon  missionaries  make  especial  efforts  to  gain  fe- 
male converts,  esteeming  success  in  this  work  para- 
mount even  to  the  acquisition  of  wealthy  disciples. 
When,  however,  they  manage  to  obtain  a  lodgment  in 
a  family  where  girls  and  money  both  abound,  they  re- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  285 

gard  themselves  in  pursuit  of  a  prize  for  which  they 
will  put  forth  their  best  exertions.  Such  a  family 
transferred  to  Salt  Lake  City  is  an  object  of  great 
consideration.  The  wealth  of  the  father  speedily  finds 
its  way  into  the  coffers  of  the  Church,  and  the  daugh- 
ters are  in  due  time  distributed  among  the  high-priests, 
or  have  the  proud  distinction  of  starting  new  harems. 

Out  of  the  pale  of  this  singular  society,  it  is  often  a 
matter  for  marvel  that,  in  an  age  which  is  regarded 
the  most  enlightened  since  the  creation  of  the  world, 
men  and  women  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the 
usages  of  civilized  life  should  remain  the  passive  sub- 
jects of  such  a  despotism.  But  the  true  Mormon 
knows  little  or  nothing  of  what  is  going  on  outside  of 
the  rim  of  the  Great  Basin,  except  that  which  is  de- 
rived from  pulpit  discourses,  and  the  newspapers  and 
publications  which  belong  to  his  own  faith.  All  the 
means  of  instruction  within  those  boundaries  are  made 
instrumental  in  holding  the  consciences  and  bodies  of 
the  Saints  in  subjection.  They  are  generally  a  church- 
going  people.  In  Salt  Lake  City,  their  congregations 
on  the  Sabbath  are  from  2500  to  3000,  which,  in  a 
population  of  8000,  is  a  large  proportion. 

Their  devotional  exercises  have  their  peculiarities, 
though  generally  resembling  those  of  other  communi- 
ties. Their  discourses  on  these  occasions  are  mostly 
stereotyped,  and  are  made  up  of  histories  of  their  per- 
secutions, and  a  description  of  the  glorious  destiny  in 
store  for  the  Saints.  The  reader  shall  have  one  of  the 
most  favorable  specimens,  which  occurred  on  Sunday, 
the  9th  of  January,  1853. 

The  services  commenced  with  music  from  a  full 


286  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

band  stationed  in  front  of  the  priest's  platform,  accom- 
panied with  voices,  the  performance  of  which  was 
creditable.  This  was  followed  by  a  prayer,  which  had 
nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  similar  exercises  else- 
where ;  after  which  was  music  again.  The  presiding 
elder  for  the  day  then  called  upon  one  of  the  priests 
sitting  on  the  platform  for  a  sermon,  who,  in  this  in- 
stance, proved  to  be  Parley  P.  Pratt,  one  of  their  most 
plausible  sermonizers.  During  the  discourse  the  sa- 
crament was  administered,  which  was  done  by  one 
or  two  persons  taking  each  a  pitcher  of  water  and  a 
tumbler,  and  going  around  among  the  congregation, 
followed  by  another  with  a  plate  of  broken  bread,  each 
of  the  assembled  Saints  being  thus  furnished  with  a 
drink  of  water  and  a  piece  of  bread.  After  Elder  Pratt 
finished  his  sermon,  a  returned  missionary  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands  was  called  up,  and  gave  a  tedious 
and  egotistical  account  of  his  doings  in  that  part  of  the 
world ;  after  which  came  a  short  benediction,  and  an- 
other tune  was  played  by  the  band  as  the  audience 
retired. 

The  discourse  of  Elder  Pratt  was  thoroughly  Mor- 
mon. He  congratulated  himself  and  the  audience 
that  so  large  a  number  had  congregated  in  the  House 
of  the  Lord.  He  then  descanted  at  considerable 
length  upon  the  persecutions  which  they  had  suffered 
from  the  Gentiles,  and  the  miraculous  exhibition  at 
present  made  by  the  Saints  in  having  established  and 
built  up  themselves  in  their  isolated  position  under 
such  discouraging  circumstances.  He  averred  that 
nothing  like  it  had  ever  been  known  before ;  that  no 
other  people  could  have  done  it,  and  that  this  was  ev- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  287 

idence  of  their  divine  mission ;  that  this  was  now  the 
great  centre  of  attraction,  and  that  every  thing  which 
was  said  or  done  by  them  was  closely  watched,  and 
caught  up  with  great  eagerness  and  published  by  the 
rest  of  the  world.  He  then  discoursed  upon  the  glo- 
rious destiny  of  the  Saints  here  and  hereafter,  in  pre- 
paring to  build  up  kingdoms  and  become  gods,  and 
expressed  a  feeling  of  solemnity  when  he  felt  that  ho 
was  a  responsible  agent  in  the  great  work.  But,  on  the 
whole,  he  expressed  himself  very  well  satisfied  that  he 
had  performed  his  whole  duty,  and  that  he  could  not 
better  it  if  it  were  to  be  performed  over  again ;  that 
he  had  left  wives  and  family  to  go  on  missions,  and 
strongly  condemned  the  Saint  who  could  be  kept  back 
from  such  a  duty  by  a  woman  ;  that  the  present  actors 
would  soon  be  out  of  the  way,  and  then  the  responsi- 
bility would  rest  upon  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  rising 
generation ;  that,  in  view  of  this,  he  thought  they  were 
spending  too  much  time  in  amusements,  and  too  little 
in  learning  the  sciences  and  mechanical  arts,  and  thus 
preparing  themselves  for  their  mission ;  that  (rod  was 
not  too  proud  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, of  which  there  was  abundant  evidence,  to  wit, 
in  having  laid  out  the  garden  of  Eden,  planned  the 
Temple  of  Solomon,  &c. 

He  spoke  with  an  ordinary  degree  of  ease  and  flu- 
ency, and  used  many  ad  captandum  expressions  to 
excite  the  mirth  of  his  hearers.  With  the  exception 
of  the  exhortation  to  the  young  to  become  studious  and 
industrious,  there  was  not  a  single  useful  idea  in  the 
whole  discourse ;  but  it  was  well  calculated  to  keep 
up  the  spiritual  pride  and  self-glorification  of  the  audi- 


288  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

ence,  by  reminding  them  of  the  persecutions  which 
they  had  suffered,  the  marvelous  things  which  they 
had  achieved,  and  their  glorious  destinies  in  prospect. 
Humility,  which  forms  so  constant  a  theme  in  Chris- 
tian pulpits,  finds  no  abiding-place  in  a  Mormon's  mind. 
"Why  should  it  ?  He  was  one  of  the  spirits  who  shout- 
ed for  joy  at  the  creation,  and  is  destined  to  become  a 
god  and  rule  over  a  kingdom. 

Parley  P.  Pratt  is  one  of  their  ablest  men  ;  he  is  evi- 
dently above  mediocrity  in  .point  of  talent,  and,  with 
proper  cultivation,  and  under  any  other  than  a  system 
of  imposture,  would  be  noted  as  a  good  speaker.  He 
has  a  subtle  and  seductive  genius,  is  very  self-possess- 
ed, and  wears  a  candid  and  friendly  appearance.  He 
wrote  "  The  Voice  of  Warning"  a  work  much  esteem- 
ed among  the  Saints,  and  is,  withal,  a  poet.  At  one 
period  he  had  some  rough  weather  with  Brigham 
Young,  who  was  jealous  that  he  had  an  eye  to  the  suc- 
cession, and  sent  him  as  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Since  his  return  he  has  been  busily  enofasred 

«/  Do 

in  another  work,  which  is  to  furnish  the  key  to  all  re- 
ligious knowledge.  He  was  formerly  a  Campbellite 
preacher,  and  became  noted  for  wild  and  visionary  no- 
tions in  regard  to  the  Millennium.  The  Book  of  Mor- 
mon and  the  ready-made  revelations  of  the  prophet  Jo- 
seph found  a  friendly  soil  in  the  peculiar  idiosyncracies 
of  his  mind,  and  he  surrendered  to  Mormonism  at  the 
first  summons,  and  at  an  early  period.  His  mind  is 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  necessity  of  ecclesiastical 
forms  and  machinery  for  salvation,  such  as  baptism, 
authorized  apostles,  &c.  The  apostolic  succession  hav- 
ing, in  his  view,  been  lost,  it  was  necessary  to  have 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  289 

the  authority  renewed,  which  was  done  in  the  case  of 
Smith  through  an  angel.  He  enters  readily  into  polyga- 
my ;  has  a  harem  of  eight  wives ;  has  lost  eight  chil- 
dren, and  has  sixteen  still  living.  At  his  house  he  will 
introduce  the  stranger  to  one  as  Mrs.  Pratt ;  and  then, 
pointing  with  complacent  nonchalance  to  the  rest  of 
the  bevy,  will  say,  "  These  are  all  Mrs.  Pratts."  The 
most  of  his  brethren  exhibit  a  kind  of  hang-dog  look  on 
such  occasions,  and  seern  to  feel  like  a  culprit  caught 
in  depredating  upon  a  hen-roost ;  but  Parley  puts  a 
bold  face  upon  the  matter,  and  in  this  is  certainly  con- 
sistent with  his  professed  principles. 

In  addition  to  their  means  of  instruction  derived  from 
the  pulpit,  they  have  organized  schools,  very  similar  to 
the  common  school  district  system  in  the  States.  In 
Great  Salt  Lake  City  there  is  a  school -house  in  every 
ward,  and  schools  have  been  kept  up  in  the  most  of 
them ;  but  they  are  wretchedly  managed,  and  so  far 
have  proved  to  be  hot-beds  of  vice  rather  than  places 
of  instruction.  The  children  and  youth  now  growing 
up,  and  for  the  improvement  of  whom  these  means  of 
instruction  have  been  provided,  are  ungoverned  and 
ungovernable,  in  and  out  of  school ;  and,  so  far  from 
any  effort  being  made  to  remedy  the  evil,  this  youthful 
turbulence  is  complacently  regarded  as  evidence  of 
their  celestial  descent.  The  Hon.  J.  M.  Grant,  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  a  discourse  deliv- 
ered at  a  ward  school-house  on  Sunday,  the  20th  of 
February,  1853,  stated  that  the  children  of  the  Saints 
possessed  superior  minds,  which  made  it  difficult  to 
govern  them  in  school ;  and  that,  for  his  part,  he  was 
glad  of  it,  as  it  manifested  the  dignity  of  their  origin. 

N 


290  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

With  such  notions  openly  preached,  it  is  no  wonder  the 
schools  are  arenas  of  riot  and  disorder  :  they  are  worse 
than  that;  they  are  the  seminaries  of  juvenile  vice — 
incipient  embryo  hells,  in  which  the  most  filthy  and 
obscene  ideas  are  instilled  into  their  young  minds. 
These  children  exhibit  a  precocity  of  knowledge  on 
subjects  which  parents  usually  conceal  from  them 
which  is  perfectly  astounding.  It  is  a  common  thing 
for  them  to  retail  at  school  the  disgusting  intimacies 
which  they  have  witnessed  at  home.  Young  men  who 
have  graduated  in  these  primary  institutions  of  vice 
are  licentious  to  a  degree  that  will  not  bear  description. 
The  openness  with  which  these  forward  youths  are  fol- 
lowing in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors  may  find 
fitting  comparisons  with  flocks  and  herds,  but  not  in 
any  branch  of  the  human  family  outside  of  Mormon- 
dom,  or  since  the  days  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

The  "  Deseret  News,"  published  semi-monthly  at 
Salt  Lake  City,  at  five  dollars  per  year,  furnishes  the 
Saints  with  the  most  of  their  newspaper  reading.  This 
usually  contains  a  curious  medley ;  at  least,  such  would 
be  likely  to  be  the  judgment  of  any  other  than  a  Mor- 
mon. Take  the  one  of  April  30th,  1853,  as  a  sample. 

The  first  column  is  devoted  to  anecdotes  and  witti- 
cisms ;  after  which  follows  a  poetic  effusion,  by  Miss  E. 
R.  Snow,  "  To  the  Saints  in  Europe,"  the  first  stanza 
of  which  and  the  chorus  will  be  enough  to  show  how 
deeply  the  Latter-day  muse  has  quaffed  from  the  "  Pie- 
rian puddle :" 

"  Ye  Saints  who  are  dwelling  in  Europe, 

"Wherever  you're  scattered  abroad, 
Grace  and  mercy  be  multiplied  to  you, 
Through  the  favor  and  knowledge  of  God. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  291 

CHORUS. 

Come,  come  to  the  chambers  of  Israel ; 

Come,  come  to  your  home  in  the  West ; 
Come,  come  to  the  valleys  of  Ephraim — 

Come,  come  to  the  land  of  the  bless'd." 

After  the  poetry,  two  columns  are  taken  up  with  the 
autobiography  of  Joseph  Smith,  which  is  being  repub- 
lished  in  consecutive  portions.  Then  comes  a  sermon 
by  Elder  P.  P.  Pratt  before  the  April  Conference,  in 
which  he  undertakes  to  tell  us  of  what  stuff  spirits 
are  made : 

"  But  what  are  they  if  they  are  not  flesh  and  bones  ? 
What  are  they  if  they  are  not  tangible  to  our  gross 
organs  of  sense  ?  Of  what  are  they  composed  that  we 
can  neither  see,  hear,  nor  handle  them,  except  we  are 
quickened,  or  our  organs  touched  by  the  principles  of 
vision,  clairvoyance,  or  spiritual  sight  ?  What  are  they  ? 
Why,  they  are  organized  intelligences.  What  are  they 
made  of?  They  are  made  of  the  element  which  we 
call  spirit,  which  is  as  much  an  element  of  material 
existence  as  earth,  air,  electricity,  or  any  other  tangi- 
ble substance  recognized  by  man ;  but  so  subtile,  so  re- 
fined is  its  nature,  that  it  is  not  tangible  to  our  gross 
organs.  It  is  invisible  to  us  unless  we  are  quickened 
by  a  portion  of  the  same  element,  and,  like  electricity 
and  several  other  substances,  it  is  only  known  or  made 
manifest  to  our  senses  by  its  effects.  For  instance, 
electricity  is  not  always  visible  to  us,  but  its  existence 
is  made  manifest  by  its  operations  upon  the  wire  or 
upon  the  nerves.  We  can  not  see  the  air,  but  we  feel 
its  effects,  and  without  it  we  can  not  breathe. 

"  If  a  wire  were  extended  in  connection  with  the 
equatorial  line  of  our  globe  in  one  entire  circle  of  twen- 


292  UTAH    AND    THE   MORMONS. 

ty-five  thousand  miles  in  extent,  the  electric  fluid 
would  convey  a  token  from  one  intelligence  to  another 
the  length  of  the  entire  circle  in  a  very  small  portion 
of  a  second,  or,  we  will  say,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
This,  then,  proves  that  the  spiritual  fluid  or  element 
called  electricity  is  an  actual  physical  and  tangible 
power,  and  is  as  much  a  real  and  tangible  substance 
as  the  ponderous  rocks  which  were  laid  on  yesterday 
in  the  foundation  of  our  contemplated  Temple." 

Parley  then  goes  on  to  give  a  dismal  account  of  those 
who  have  died  without  having  the  Gospel  preached  to 
them  by  those  who  are  authorized  to  hold  the  "  keys" 
but  he  somehow  provides  a  way  of  escape  for  every 
body  except  apostates  from  Latter-day-ism : 

"  Such  apostates  seek,  in  all  dispensations,  to  bring 
destruction  on  the  innocent,  and  to  shed  innocent 
blood,  or  consent  thereto.  For  such,  I  again  repeat,  I 
know  no  forgiveness.  Their  children,  who,  by  the  con- 
duct of  such  fathers,  have  been  plunged  into  ignorance 
and  misery  for  so  many  ages,  and  have  lived  without 
the  privileges  of  the  Gospel,  will  look  down  upon  such 
a  parentage  with  mingled  feelings  of  horror,  contempt, 
reproach,  and  pity,  as  the  agents  who  plunged  their 
posterity  into  the  depths  of  misery  and  woe." 

After  the  sermon  comes  the  editorial.  The  leader 
relates  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  some  good  ad- 
vice is  given  to  the  Saints  to  save  their  grain,  and  to 
be  charitable  to  each  other.  Under  the  editorial  head 
is  an  abstract  of  news,  in  which  the  disasters  of  the 
Gentile  world  by  fire,  earthquakes,  &c.,  are  largely 
represented.  We  then  have  communications  from  sun- 
dry correspondents,  and,  among  others,  a  very  charac- 


UTAH    AND-  THE    MORMONS.  393 

teristio  one  from  Edward  Sayers,  the  Deseret  garden- 
er : 

"  i  I  herewith  send  a  few  cucumbers,  which  you  will 
please  to  accept  as  the  first  of  the  season  with  me ; 
this  I  do,  as  I  know  you  are  always  glad  to  see  any 
thing  like  early  productions  in  the  Yalley.  If  the  little 
article  on  plants  meets  your  approbation,  I  shall  feel 
much  obliged  if  you  will  give  it  an  insertion  in  the 
News.  E.  S. 

"  '  Doct.  Richards,  Present.' 

"  "With  the  above  we  received  a  plate  of  cucumbers, 
varying  from  5J  to  8-J  inches — the  lot  averaging  6| 
inches  in  length  ;  large  enough  for  table  use,  or  about 
If  inches  in  diameter ;  the  whole  covered  with  a  hand- 
ful of  green  leaves  from  7  to  10  inches  in  diameter. 
We  are  thankful  to  learn  by  this  expression  that  Friend 
Sayers  has  not  forgotten  the  texture  of  our  eye  and 
taste  for  early  vegetables,  though  it  is  many  years 
since  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  regaling  in  his 
botanic,  flower,  and  vegetable  kingdom." 

Then  follow  the  minutes  of  the  General  Conference, 
the  largest  portion  of  which  is  occupied  with  a  sermon 
and  speech  from  Brigham,  and  a  few  short  speeches 
from  other  dignitaries.  In  the  sermon,  the  reigning 
seer  condescends  to  give  the  assembled  Saints  some 
light  in  reference  to  the  Temple,  of  which  the  corner 
stones  had  been  lately  laid : 

"  I  scarcely  ever  say  much  about  revelations  or  vis- 
ions ;  but  suffice  it  to  say,  five  years  ago  last  July  I 
was  here,  and  saw  in  the  spirit  the  Temple,  not  ten 
feet  from  where  we  have  laid  the  chief  corner  stone. 
I  have  not  inquired  what  kind  of  a  temple  we  should 


294  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

build.  Why  ?  Because  it  was  represented  before  me. 
I  never  looked  upon  that  ground  but  the  vision  of  it 
was  there.  I  see  it  as  plainly  as  if  it  was  in  reality 
before  me.  "Wait  until  it  is  done.  I  will  say,  how- 
ever, that  it  will  have  six  towers  to  begin  with  instead 
of  one.  Now  do  not  any  of  you  apostatize  because  it 
will  have  six  towers,  and  Joseph  only  built  one.  It  is 
easier  for  us  to  build  sixteen  than  it  was  for  him  to 
build  one.  The  time  will  come  when  there  will  be 
one  in  the  centre  of  temples  we  shall  build ;  and  on 
the  top,  groves  and  fish-ponds.  But  we  shall  not  see 
them  here  at  present." 

These  fish,  we  may  be  permitted  to  conjecture,  will 
be  gudgeons,  and  gulls  will  probably  sport  in  the  same 
waters. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  speech,  as  though  Brigham 
had  been  rivaled  a  little  too  closely  in  chasing  after 
some  dowered  widows  to  be  quite  agreeable : 

"  You  may  see  a  great  many  miserly  persons  with 
regard  to  dollars  and  cents ;  it  is  just  as  natural  for 
men  to  be  miserly  with  regard  to  their  religious  bless- 
ings. You  may  see  hundreds  of  elders  who  say  to  the 
sisters,  '  Come,  and  be  sealed  to  me,'  crawling  round 
to  make  the  holy  ordinances  of  (rod  a  matter  of  spec- 
ulation to  administer  to  their  avaricious  dispositions. 
They  tell  you  that  you  will  go  into  eternity,  and  find 
yourselves  without  husbands,  and  can  not  get  an  exalt- 
ation ;  that  you  can  not  have  this,  that,  or  the  other, 
unless  you  are  seated  to  them.  I  am  free,  and  so  are 
you.  My  advice  to  the  sisters  is,  Never  be  sealed  to 
any  man,  unless  you  wish  to  be.  I  say  to  you  high- 
priests  and  elders,  never,  from  this  time,  ask  a  woman 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  295 

to  be  sealed  to  you,  unless  she  wants  to  be,  but  let  the 
ividows  and  children  alone" 

The  following  affords  some  insight  into  the  mysteries 
of  courtship  and  marriage,  as  managed  in  this  favored 
region : 

"  I  might  notice  many  more  items  pertaining  to  this 
matter ;  but  the  elders  going  round  telling  the  sisters 
they  must  be  sealed  to  them,  or  they  can  not  get  an 
exaltation,  particularly  has  wounded  my  feelings. 
How  ignorant  such  men  are !  This,  to  me,  is  like  a 
shadow  ;  to  talk  about  it  is  sheer  nonsense.  Let  every 
man  and  woman  magnify  their  calling  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  he  will  take  care  that  we  have  our  exalt- 
ation. 

"  Sisters  come  to  me  and  inquire  what  they  shall  do, 
saying,  Brother  A.  or  B.  taught  me  so  and  so.  They 
are  as  wild  as  the  deer  on  the  mountains ;  their  ideas 
and  calculations  are  derogatory  to  every  shade  of  good 
sound  sense,  and  to  every  principle  of  the  priesthood 
of  heaven." 

The  following  are  short  speeches : 

"  Benjamin  L.  Clapp  remarked,  *  I  have  been  for  some 
time  in  a  curious  frame  of  mind,  depressed  in  spirit, 
but  I  have  done  nothing  in  secret,  neither  blasphemed 
the  name  of  God,'  and  called  on  the  Saints  to  forgive 
him,  that  he  once  more  might  enjoy  the  Spirit  of  God  ; 
and  thanks  God  he  has  been  reproved,  as  it  is  for  his 
benefit.  He  wants  to  stand  in  his  lot  and  place,  and 
magnify  his  calling.  He  feels  better  to-day  than  he 
has  for  the  last  two  years." 

"  President  Young  presented  the  text,  a  set  of  fire- 
irons  made  by  the  brethren  from  the  native  irori  in 


296  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

Iron  county ;  also  a  small  piece  of  metal,  looking  like 
silver,  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  furnace,  on  which 
aqua  fortis  has  no  effect ;  and  said  he,  <  We  no  longer 
ask  any  person  to  go  to  Iron  county.' 

"  Elder  George  A.  Smith  was  called  upon  to  preach 
'  an  iron  sermon,'  who  rose,  took  in  the  stand  one  of  the 
fire-irons,  holding  the  same  over  his  head,  cried  out 
'  Stereotype  edition,'  and  descended,  amid  the  cheers 
of  the  Saints.  As  many  of  the  Saints  had  been  in  the 
house  over  five  hours,  the  choir  sung  *  Praise  God  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow.'  Benediction  by  Lorenzo 
Snow." 

The  last  page  is  devoted  to  advertisements,  of  which 
the  following  are  peculiar  : 

"  BRANDS,  BRANDS  ! 

"  Mistake  corrected. — By  some  unaccountable  op- 
eration in  human  affairs,  the  following  mark  JL  was 
recorded  and  published  for  the  benefit  of  Lyman  Hin- 
man. 

"  This  M^  is  Lyman  Hinman's  brand,  on  the  left 
hip,  three  inches  long  by  four  inches  wide ;  residence, 
Richards'  Mill,  Davis  county ;  and  all  persons  will 
please  take  notice,  and  govern  themselves  accordingly. 

"H.  COR  AY, 
"  Acting  Recorder  of  Brands,  Utah  Territory." 

"  NOTICE. 

"  The  members  of  the  31st  Quorum  of  Seventies  are 
requested  to  send  in  their  names  and  genealogies  in 
the  following  order,  to  the  Clerk  of  said  Quorum  in 
Grand  Salt  Lake  City :  Person's  name ;  when  born ; 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  297 

place  of  birth ;  parents'  names ;  baptized ;  ordained 
into  the  Quorum.  By  order  of  the  Presidents, 

"  GTEO.  WOODWARD,  Clerk" 

"  Gr.  D.  WATT,  REPORTER, 

is  on  hand  when  called  for,  to  make  verbatim  re- 
ports of  the  blessings  of  children,  confirmations,  ser- 
mons, lectures,  &c.,  &c.,  and  may  be  found  in  the 
President's  Office,  northwest  corner  of  the  Council 
House,  up  stairs. 

"  P. S.— - When  any  of  the  Wards  call  a  meeting  for 
the  blessing  of  children,  it  may  be  found  for  their  ben- 
efit to  have  Gr.  D.  W.  present  on  such  occasions." 

The  "Deseret  News"  is  edited  by  Dr.  Willard  Rich- 
ards, a  member  of  the  Quorum  of  Three,  and  who,  it 
will  be  recollected,  was  an  inmate  of  the  Carthage  jail 
when  the  Smiths  were  murdered,  and  narrowly  escaped 
injury  on  that  critical  occasion.  He  is  also  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Legislative  Council,  and,  in  addition,  holds 
the  important  position  of  deputy  post-master  at  Salt 
Lake  City  under  the  general  government.  He  is  of 
unwieldy  size,  and  disposed  to  lethargy.  His  corpu- 
lence is  a  disease  produced  by  the  joint  influence  of 
gluttony  and  drink.  He  evinces  much  kindliness  of 
disposition  and  politeness  of  demeanor,  and  is  not  des- 
titute of  talent.  Some  of  his  editorials  read  well  and 
are  sensible.  His  history  in  reference  to  polygamy  is 
worth  relating.  When  it  was  first  introduced  by  the 
prophet,  he  was  much  annoyed.  He  was,  it  seems, 
married  to  a  wife  for  whom  he  had  a  strong  attach- 
ment, and  was  so  fearful  that  it  would  render  her  un- 
N2 


298  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

happy,  that  he  managed  to  keep  all  knowledge  of  it 
from  her,  which  certainly  presents  the  amiability  of 
his  disposition  in  a  favorable  light.  His  wife  died  in 
Nauvoo,  after  which  the  doctor  took  unto  himself  a 
goodly  number  of  concubines,  under  the  universal  plea 
that  it  was  a  divinely  authorized  order  of  the  Church. 
Was  he  sincere,  or  did  he  all  the  while  suspect  that 
the  inspiration  of  Joseph  was  from  a  class  of  spirits 
similar  to  those  with  whom  Dr.  Faustus  was,  in  pop- 
ular credulity,  supposed  to  have  been  in  league  when 
he  invented  type  ?  He  will  not  live  with  his  concu- 
bines, but  furnishes  them  with  separate  stalls,  as  a 
farmer  would  his  favorite  cows,  and  continues  to  re- 
side with  a  maiden  sister.  He  is  an  instance  of  an 
easy,  good-natured  man,  spoiled  by  a  profane  religious 
system  and  vicious  associations.  His  obesity  and  hab- 
its will  soon  remove  him  to  a  state  where  all  that  is 
good  and  evil,  recorded  in  his  book  of  life,  will  be  fully 
explored. 

Another  medium  of  instruction,  through  the  agency 
of  which  the  Saints  are  kept  in  a  high  degree  of  illu- 
mination, is  the  "Deseret  Almanac,"  a  concern  got  up 
by  "W.  W.  Phelps,  editor  of  the  "  Morning  and  Even- 
ing Star"  when  Zion  was  located  in  Missouri,  since 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  first 
session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  who  some- 
times calls  himself  the  "  King's  Jester."  This  man,  as 
already  stated,  was  a  broken-down  political  hack,  who 
resided  for  a  time  at  Cortland,  and  also  at  Canandai- 
gua,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  There  were  too  many 
screws  loose  in  his  mind  to  make  him  efficient  in  any 
thing  rational,  and,  soon  after  Smith  appeared  upon  the 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  299 

stage  with  Spaulding's  book,  and  his  own  machinery 
of  seer-stones  and  miracles,  Phelps  was  irresistibly  at- 
tracted, and  became  an  early  convert.  When  the 
troubles  came  on  in  Missouri,  and  Joseph  and  Hyrum 
were  arrested  for  treason,  he  apostatized,  and,  as  a 
witness  before  Judge  King,  made  some  ugly  disclo- 
sures. He  was  afterward  restored  to  the  bosom  of  the 
Church,  and  now  figures  among  the  great  men  of  the 
Latter-day  Saints.  In  the  secret  penetralia  of  Mor- 
mon Temple  mysteries,  he  plays  the  part  of  the  ser- 
pent-devil in  the  garden  of  Eden ;  and  on  such  occa- 
sions, wriggles  and  hisses  so  much  like  a  real  snake, 
that  his  services  are  looked  upon  as  indispensable  by 
all  true  believers. 

An  almanac  made  up  by  such  a  genius  must,  of 
course,  have  its  peculiarities.  In  the  one  for  1852  oc- 
curs the  following  scrap  of  sublime  doctrine  : 

"  The  nearest  '  fixed  star'  must  be  Mount  Paran, 
mentioned  in  Habakkuk,  the  fruitful  world  of  glory 
where  the  '  Holy  One'  came  from ;  or,  rather,  Kolob, 
where  our  Father  in  the  heavens  resides  in  the  midst 
of  his  glory  and  kingdoms.  The  next  <  fixed  star,'  also 
mentioned  by  Habakkuk,  must  be  Tamen,  the  world 
of  perfection,  where  Grod  came  from  to  do  the  works 
of  his  Father  spoken  of  by  John  the  Revelator  (Rev., 
L,  6) ;  which  Father  of  Grod  and  grandfather  of  Jesus 
Christ  must  now  be  living  in  one  of  the  eternity  of 
eternities,  which  closes  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Greek 
version,  and  is  mentioned  by  John  (Rev.,  xix.,  3,  &c.)." 

This  idea  of  matrimony  and  pedigree  among  the 
Mormon  gods  is  kept  up  in  the  Almanac  for  the  present 
year,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  specimen  page  : 


300 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


1853.]     FEBRUARY  begins  on  Tuesday,  and  has  28  days.     [WINTER. 

First  day,  lOh.  3m.  long.                 Fifteenth  day,  lOh.  35m.  long. 

CHANGES  OF  THE  MOON.                          CONJUNCTIONS,  Ac.,  OF  PLANETS. 

d.        h.       m.                                                  d.       A.       m. 

•  New  Moon,       6     10      7  a.                    4   <$    <£  3     li     47m. 

})  First  quarter,  14      9     45  a.                    <J    4    <£  7      3      8  m. 

O  Full  moon,       23     11     58  m.                   $    6    <C  5     11     20m. 

Day  of  Week  J^- 

ALMANACANA. 

Sun  I  Sun  \  Moon 
Ris.  (Sets.  South. 

Moon 
Rises. 

A.    m.  h.   m.  ,  h.     m. 

A.    m. 

Tuesday 

1 

Weather  changes,  so  do  men. 

7  13:5  16    7    6 

1  30 

Wednesday 

2 

Mary's  purification. 

7  12 

5  17 

8    8 

233 

Thursday 

3 

Law  costs  cash  ; 

7  11 

5  18 

9    4 

3  34 

Friday 

4 

Matrimony  patience. 

7  10 

520 

10    4 

4  19 

Saturday 

5 

God  hates  sin  and  debauchery. 

7    9 

5  21 

11    2 

524 

Sunday 

6 

Flattery  is  the  fog  of  greatness. 

7    7 

5  21 

11  57 

6  19 

Monday 

7 

Beware  !  yes,  of  folly. 

7    6 

5  22 

1245 

sets. 

Tuesday 

8 

Hyrum  Smith  b.  1800. 

7    5 

523 

1  41 

6    1 

Wednesday 

9 

Among  officials,  when  one  dog 

7    4 

5  24 

2  23 

7  13 

Thursday 

10 

barks,  another  imitates  him. 

7    3 

5  26 

3    6 

8  19 

Friday 

11 

Every  body  talks  too  much. 

7    2 

527 

348 

9  13 

Saturday 

12 

Cholera  in  London,  1812. 

7    0 

528 

429 

10    8 

Sunday 

13 

Be  one  in  time  for  eternity. 

6  59 

529 

5  19 

11  10 

Monday 

14 

Gold  governs  this  world,  and 

6  58 

5  31 

555 

11  52 

Tuesday 

15 

wisdom  heaven. 

6  56 

5  32 

644 

morn. 

Wednesday 

16 

Vision  of  Joseph  Smith,  1832. 

655 

5  32 

729 

54 

Thursday 

17 

W.W.  Phelpsb.  1792. 

6  54 

5  33 

8  20 

2     1 

Friday 

18 

Sirius  s.  8h.  52m. 

6  52 

5  37 

9    8 

3    3 

Saturday 

19 

Why  does  man  fail  in  what  he 

6  51 

5  38 

10    9 

355 

Sunday 

20 

aims  at  nine  times  out  of  tenl 

650 

539 

11     1 

453 

Monday 

21 

Because  he  does  not  honor  God. 

648 

540 

11  58 

5  56 

Tuesday 

22 

Ezra  T.  Benson  b.  1811. 

647 

541 

morn. 

rises. 

Wednesday 

23 

God  was  married,  or  how  could 

645 

543 

46 

6  24 

Thursday 

24 

he  beget  his  son  Jesus  Christ 

644 

544 

1  38 

7  13 

Friday 

25 

lawfully,  and  do  the  works  of 

642 

545 

2  28 

8     1 

Saturday 

26 

his  Father  1 

641 

546 

3  19 

9  13 

Sunday 

27 

Eternity  swallows  ages. 

6  39 

547 

4  11 

1033 

Monday 

28 

Deseret  University  chart'd  1850. 

6  38 

548 

5  18 

11  50 

In  the  miscellaneous  department  we  find  such  scraps 
as  these : 

"  UNION. 

"  The  experience  of  ages  shows  that  i  union'  makes 
heaven  eternal,  because  the  sun-lit,  moon-tinged,  star- 
ry hosts  above  are  as  they  were  from  the  beginning. 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  £01 

Now  I  wish  and  pray  for  the  '  Saints,'  as  they  gather 
from  the  nations  of  the  earth,  to  come  to  the  same 
union.  When  this  globe  was  organized,  the  <  waters 
Were  gathered  into  one  place  ;'  so,  when  we  view  the 
Great  Basin,  we  see  the  waters  from  all  points  of  the 
compass  run  to  the  centre,  or  Great  Salt  Lake,  and 
there  is  no  '  outlet,'  but  a  specimen  of  union  as  to  com- 
ing together,  and  preservation  as  to  salt.  Here,  then, 
let  every  Saint  PRESERVE  THE  UNION  by  bringing  and 
manufacturing  all  that  is  needed,  and  not  '  casting 
their  pearls  before  swine,'  by  buying  goods  of  Japheth's 
merchantmen,  who  run  back  to  their  <  sties'  in  the  East, 
0  eh,  0  eh,  0  eh !  how  easy  we  made  $500,000  out 
of  the  d — d  Mormons  by  charging  five  hundred  per 
cent.  Don't  take  that  pitcher  to  the  well  again — 'tis 
cracked !  i  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead,'  or  let  the 
world  cheat  the  world ;  but,  Saint,  keep  thyself  unspot- 
ted from  the  world !" 

"  HINTS  FOR  HUMANITY. 

"  A  family  hell — a  smoky  house,  a  wife  never  suit- 
ed, and  a  few  ragged  urchins  playing  cards  and  scratch- 
ing their  heads. 

"  Paradise  lost — a  beautiful  girl,  after  having  tasted 
of  the  good  word  of  God,  with  a  prospect  of  the  '  pow- 
ers to  come,'  that  runs  away  and  marries  a  c  tare  of 
the  field.' " 

"A  SONNET  ON  BOGUS. 

"  A  new  idea,  fresh, 

The  people  all  are  bogus  : 
Their  bodies  true  are  flesh, 

But  devils'  spirit  rogue  us — (except  the  Mormons}. 


302  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 

"  The  world  goes  on  to  cheat, 

The  very  fashions  vogue  us  ; 
There's  tares  among  the  wheat, 

And  every  coin  has  bogus — (except  the  Mormon} ." 

The  General  Conference  meets  every  six  months,  in 
April  and  October,  which  is  a  general  meeting  of  the 
Church,  and  on  which  occasions  speeches  are  made 
and  sermons  delivered.  Lectures  are  also  occasionally 
delivered  before  the  "  Female  Health  Society,"  an  as- 
sociation for  the  promotion  of  health,  in  which  the 
mysteries  of  curing  disease  by  miraculous  agency  are 
more  particularly  descanted  upon.  The  language  of 
their  discourses  on  devotional,  business,  and  festive  oc- 
casions, is  often  low,  filthy,  obscene,  profane,  and  bru- 
tal to  a  degree  shocking  to  Grentile  ears. 

In  the  summer  of  1851,  Brigham  Young  delivered 
a  discourse  intended  to  use  up  the  doctors,  in  which, 
in  vulgar  and  obscene  language,  he  undertook  to  show 
that  he  was  as  well  acquainted  with  the  different  parts 
of  the  human  body  as  professional  men.  One  phrase, 
in  particular,  has  passed  into  the  dignity  of  "  house- 
hold words."  He  said  he  knew  that  "  women  had 
legs,  &c.,  &c.,  as  well  as  the  doctors."  The  dialect 
of  the  blackguard  is  so  common  to  Brigham  as  to  ex- 
cite very  little  'attention.  In  a  speech  of  his,  published 
in  the  "Deseret  News"  of  April  2d,  1853,  against  the 
Grladdenites,  such  phrases  as  these  occur :  "  Nasty, 
sneaking  apostate ;"  "  nasty  little  Smith  and  his  wife ;" 
" go  to  hell  across  lots;"  " nasty,  stinking  ribbons." 
The  Governor  has  a  large  harem,  and  sure  no  one  can 
dispute  his  full  appreciation  of  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  nasty" 


UTAH   AND    THE   MORMONS.  3Q3 

During  the  same  summer  that  Brigham  used  up  the 
doctors,  a  party  of  pleasure,  men  and  women,  resorted 
to  the  top  of  "  Ensign  Peak,"  and,  among  others,  was 
an  address  delivered  by  "W.  "W.  Phelps,  in  which  he 
went  on  to  enlighten  the  mothers  and  daughters  in 
Israel  as  to  the  proper  time  and  manner  in  which  the 
work  of  generation  should  be  carried  on,  with  a  mi- 
nuteness of  detail  and  vulgarity  of  language  which 
could  scarcely  have  been  more  broad  had  he  denuded 
himself  by  way  of  illustration.  This  reached  the  cli- 
max of  Mormon  obscenity  in  public  speaking,  and  is 
often  used  by  way  of  comparison.  When  any  thing  a 
little  richer  than  common  has  been  elicited,  it  is  said 
to  be  almost  equal  to  "  Phelps' s  sermon  on  the  Mount" 
So  much  remark  was  made  about  it  at  the  time,  that 
he  reported  the  speech  for  the  Deseret  News,  in  which, 
though  bad  enough,  the  grosser  portions  are  omitted. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Social  Intercourse. — Governor's  Party. — Influence  of  Polygamy  upon 
Amusements. — Style  of  Building. — Amusing  Scenes  growing  out 
of  Polygamy. — Superstition. — Endowment  Robes. — Initiation  Cer- 
emonies.— The  Curse. — The  Patriarch  and  his  Blessings. — Gift  of 
Tongues. — Notions  on  Slavery. 

THE  Mormons  are  a  social  people.  They  have  erect- 
ed a  large  building  called  "  Social  Hall"  with  express 
reference  to  their  gratification  in  this  respect,  and  the 
building  is  so  arranged  as  to  answer  the  double  pur- 
pose of  a  theatre  and  a  place  for  social  parties.  In  the 
basement  is  a  kitchen,  having  all  the  means  and  ap- 


304  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

pliances  for  cooking ;  adjacent  to  which  is  a  saloon, 
capable  of  seating  four  to  five  hundred  people.  When 
a  gathering  takes  place  too  large  for  the  private  res- 
idence of  the  one  who  intends  to  be  the  master  of  the 
feast,  "  Social  Hall"  presents  ample  "  room  and  verge" 
enough  for  all  the  guests.  These  parties  have  their 
oddities,  like  every  thing  else  connected  with  this 
strange  people. 

The  Governor  made  a  party  in  this  building  in  Jan- 
uary, 1853,  for  which  the  invitation  cards,  very  neatly 
executed,  were  sent  around  some  days  beforehand.  At 
the  entrance  each  guest  was  met  by  the  "private  sec- 
retary," and  required  to  pay  two  dollars  and  a  half 
toward  the  expenses  of  the  entertainment.  This  seem- 
ed odd  enough ;  but  it  is  the  universal  custom  in  all 
their  parties  of  pleasure,  and  is  no  bad  idea  where  lux- 
uries are  expensive.  The  party  was  large,  and,  after 
a  goodly  number  had  assembled,  the  business  of  the 
evening  was  opened  by  a  short  prayer ;  after  which 
the  dancing  commenced,  and  was  kept  up  during  the 
whole  evening.  A  band  of  music,  which  performed 
exceedingly  well,  was  stationed  on  the  raised  platform, 
and  there  was  room  enough  on  the  main  floor  for  half 
a  dozen  sets  of  cotillions.  Those  who  did  not  see  fit 
to  engage  in  dancing  made  themselves  agreeable  in 
conversation ;  and  many  being  present  who  had  trav- 
eled over  almost  the  entire  globe  as  missionaries,  a 
stranger  could  not  fail  to  pass  the  evening  pleasantly. 
The  supper  came  off  at  eleven,  and  was  first-rate  ;  all 
the  elements  of  a  good  feast  were  there,  and  were  en- 
joyed with  great  good  humor.  The  latest  sultana,  wrho 
is  quite  pretty,  was  present  as  a  guest.  Some  dozen 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  395 

others,  however,  of  the  harem,  gave  efficient  aid  in 
preparing  the  supper,  and  were  hospitable  in  their  at- 
tentions during  the  feast. 

The  Governor  did  not  appear  to  enter  with  much 
zest  into  the  enjoyments  of  the  evening — did  not  dance, 
and  seemed  abstracted.  Perhaps  he  was  not  in  the 
vein,  or  he  may  have  been  solicitous  that  every  thing 
should  go  off  right ;  at  any  rate,  no  one  could  complain 
of  any  want  of  attention.  He  wore  his  hat,  as  usual. 
By-the-way,  he  seldom  or  never  takes  off  his  hat :  in 
"  Social  Hall" — by  his  own  fireside — in  the  State  House 
delivering  his  message  to  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
it  is  all  the  same ;  the  eternal  hat  is  ever  topmost.  Is 
this  intended  as  a  species  of  ecclesiastical  crown — a 
kind  of  Mormon  tiara,  emblematical  of  his  sovereignty  ? 
Or  has  he  got  a  bald  spot,  or  ugly  wen  on  the  top  of 
his  bump  of  veneration  ?  I  don't  know ;  I  only  know 
that  Brigham  and  his  hat,  like  the  Centaur  and  his 
horse,  are  inseparable  companions.  His  appearance  is 
injured  by  this  confounded  hat,  because  he  and  his  hat 
are  always  associated  in  the  minds  of  all  who  have 
ever  seen  him. 

He  must  have  been  a  very  good-looking  young  man. 
He  is  now  about  fifty-five ;  dresses  well  and  in  good 
taste  ;  has  a  dignified  presence  ;  is  of  fair  height,  and 
well-rounded  and  well-proportioned  figure,  but  stoops 
a  little  too  much  for  his  age.  To  a  stranger  his  man- 
ners are  affable,  and  his  conversation  possesses  the  in- 
terest natural  to  a  shrewd  mind  and  large  experience 
in  some  of  the  roughest  phases  of  human  life.  He  has 
not  the  daring,  reckless  genius  of  Smith  (dealing  little 
in  the  prophet's  bold  and  dashing  revelations),  nor  does 


306  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

he  possess  the  same  popularity  ;  but  he  is  his  equal  in 
cunning,  and  his  superior  in  sagacity.  In  "Utah  he  is 
a  great  man;  in  the  States  he  would  be  lost  in  the 
multitude  of  greater  men.  He  is  probably  in  the  only 
place  in  the  world  where  he  could  ever  be  distinguished. 

Social  parties  are  very  common,  at  which  music  and 
dancing  are  the  universal  accompaniments.  The  in- 
vited guests  generally  contribute  something  toward  the 
expenses,  and  often  the  sum  for  each  one  to  pay  is 
noted  upon  the  card  of  invitation.  Sometimes  the 
contributions  appear  in  the  form  of  pies,  cake,  roasted 
fowl,  &c.,  or  some  drinkable,  forming  a  regular  in-door 
pic-nic.  During  the  winter,  they  keep  up  theatrical 
exhibitions  at  Social  Hall,  and  generally  the  perform- 
ances are  better  sustained  in  all  their  parts  than  in 
theatres  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  though  the  principal 
part  would  not  so  well  bear  comparison.  They  lack 
in  costume,  but  their  music  is  good,  and  they  have  a 
scene-painter  who  would  embellish  theatres  of  much 
greater  pretensions. 

But  the  misery  of  all  their  social  and  theatrical  en- 
tertainments is  that  they  are  too  often  made  the  places 
of  assignation.  At  the  theatre,  the  audience  com- 
bines the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  pit  and  third 
tier  of  eastern  cities ;  and  as  the  room  is  imperfectly 
lighted,  there  are  things  said  and  done  which  would 
not  bear  a  stronger  light  or  a  more  definite  description. 
Polygamy  poisons  every  thing ;  it  seems  to  break  down 
all  the  barriers  of  female  virtue.  And  how  can  it  well 
be  otherwise  ?  A  dozen  women,  the  common  property 
of  one  man,  some  of  them  divorced  from  other  men, 
lodged  under  the  same  roof,  and  often  more  than  one 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


307 


in  the  same  room,  soon  begin  to  feel  that  they  might 
as  well  be  the  common  property  each  of  a  dozen  men. 
I  have  been  in  small  huts  where  the  man  and  his  two 
wives  lodged  in  the  only  room  in  the  house.  I  was 
in  a  wretched  hut,  in  a  small  village  on  Utah  Lake, 
where  the  man  and  his  two  wives  and  grown-up  daugh- 
ter lodged  in  the  same  room,  containing  two  beds :  it 
was  their  parlor,  kitchen,  and  bed-room.  It  was  a 
manifest  struggle  between  poverty  and  licentiousness, 
and  there  was  filth  enough  to  manure  a  garden.  A 
child  in  Utah  who  knows  his  own  father  is  wiser  than 
common  children — wiser  even  than  his  mother,  who,  in 
many  instances,  would  be  exceedingly  puzzled  to  fix 
the  paternity. 


BRIGHAM   YOUNG'S   ESTABLISHMENT. 


Polygamy  is  introducing  a  new  style  of  building  at 
Salt  Lake  City.  A  man  with  half  a  dozen  wives  builds, 
if  he  can,  a  long,  low  dwelling,  having  six  entrances 


308 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


from  the  outside ;  and  when  he  takes  in  a  new  wife, 
if  able  to  do  so,  adds  another  apartment.  The  object 
is  to  keep  the  women  and  babies,  as  much  as  possible, 


DR.  CLINTON'S  HAREM. 


apart,  and  prevent  those  terrible  cat-fights  which  some- 
times occur,  with  all  the  accompaniments  of  Billings- 
gate, torn  caps,  and  broken  broom-sticks.  As  the  "  di- 
vine institution"  extends,  these  buildings  increase,  and 
in  a  few  years  the  city  will  look  like  a  collection  of 
barracks  for  the  accommodation  of  soldiers.  Some 
have  separate  buildings  in  parts  of  the  city  remote  from 
each  other,  and  others  have  farm-houses,  and  the  wives 
are  thus  kept  separate,  the  husband  dividing  his  time 
between  them  all. 

Some  funny  scenes  occur  occasionally.  Joseph 
Young,  a  brother  of  Brigham,  had  a  wife  who  was 
more  of  a  man  than  himself,  and  managed  to  ward  off 
plurality  for  some  time.  But  he  belonged  to  the  blood- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


royal,  and  was  persuaded  to  make  good  his  claim  to 
royal  privileges,  by  taking  in  a  concubine  from  his  own 
kitchen.  This  would  seem  to  have  settled  the  ques- 
tion, but  the  virago  made  a  fight  of  it  ;  she  not  only 
cleared  the  house  of  her  rival,  but  effectually  inter- 
rupted the  honey-moon  by  maintaining  a  close  espion- 
age upon  the  good  man.  One  day,  however,  she  was 
absent,  and,  returning  sooner  than  expected,  found  the 
bride  and  groom  in  rather  too  intimate  proximity  to 
suit  her  fancy.  She  seized  the  broom-stick,  and  laid 
on  with  such  good-will  that  the  pair  were  glad  to  quit 
the  house  in  a  very  embarrassing  predicament  —  very. 
It  cost  Brother  Young  a  dollar  to  buy  a  new  broom  ; 
and  the  veritable  Sister  Young,  like  the  young  fowler 
who  came  home  empty-handed,  if  she  did  not  abso- 
lutely bring  down  her  game,  had  the  satisfaction,  at 
least,  of  making  the  feathers  fly. 

In  the  singularly  made  up  population  of  Salt  Lake 
Valley  is  a  colony  of  Welsh,  of  whom  the  head  man  is 
Dan  Ap  Jones,  and  his  wife  is  called  the  ""Welsh 
Queen."  Polygamy  has  made  its  inroads,  too,  upon 
these  Britons,  and  a  noted  case  is  often  related,  in 
which  the  Welsh  Queen  figures  as  the  principal  per- 
sonage. It  seems  that  this  queen  claims  a  prodigious- 
ly long  pedigree,  reaching  back  as  far  as  Gr  wen  win, 
the  "  Wolf  of  Plinlimmon,"  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades, 
and  is  a  personage  of  more  than  ordinary  importance. 
The  "  divine  institution"  had  been  kept,  a  profound  se- 
cret from  her  Welsh  majesty  before  she  left  her  native 
mountains,  though  her  dear  Ap  had  got  an  inkling  of 
how  matters  stood  in  this  respect  at  Zion  ;  and  being 
connected  at  least  with  royal  blood,  he  had  a  slight 


310  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

hankering  after  some  of  its  privileges.  On  the  way 
over  the  Plains  they  encountered  scattered  parties  of 
Mormon  emigrants,  from  whom  the  princess  ascertain- 
ed, with  some  distinctness,  the  true  state  of  things  in 
the  Valley  of  Salt.  In  connection  with  this  intelli- 
gence, her  attention  became  disagreeably  fixed  upon 
some  significant  signs  of  intimacy  between  Ap  and  a 
servant-girl ;  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  the  girl  began  to 
assume  the  airs  of  an  equal.  The  Amazon 

"  Nursed  her  wrath  to  keep  it  warm," 

until  an  overt  act  of  treason  took  place,  when,  pouncing 
upon  her  victim  unexpectedly,  she  tore  her  clothes  from 
her  body ;  and  in  the  war  of  words  which  ensued, 
Queen  No.  2  dropped  from  her  mouth  a  set  of  teeth, 
which  Dan,  like  a  loving  husband,  had  provided  for  her, 
but  which  Queen  No.  1  stamped  into  the  ground  in 
her  fury,  utterly  destroying  their  capacity  for  grinding 
any  more  food. 

Any  number  of  anecdotes  might  be  related  illustra- 
tive of  the  same  subject :  one  more  must  suffice.  This 
was  a  tragi-comic  scene,  connected  with  no  less  a  per- 
sonage than  "W.  W.  Phelps,  King's  Jester,  Almanac- 
maker,  &c.,  &c.  His  wife,  it  seems,  had  given  her  con- 
sent, as  she  thought,  to  his  enlarging  his  domestic  bor- 
ders by  taking  in  another  helpmate  ;  but,  after  the 
deed  was  done,  found  herself  so  goaded  with  jealousy, 
that  the  immortal  "W.  "W.  was  compelled  to  lodge  the 
new-comer  elsewhere  than  under  the  homestead  roof. 
This  allayed  some  of  the  irritation  ;  but  still,  when  he 
was  absent  attending  upon  the  new  wife,  the  old  one 
felt  so  much  annoyed,  that  she  was  impelled  to  consti- 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


tute  herself  a  spy  upon  their  actions.  One  night  she 
stationed  herself  by  the  window  of  the  apartment, 
where  the  lovers  were  too  much  engrossed  with  each 
other  to  pay  any  attention  to  intruders,  but  incautious- 
ly leaning  too  heavily  against  the  sash,  the  whole  fell 
in,  including  her  own  person.  Phelps  of  the  male  gen- 
der, of  course,  bounced  up  in  great  alarm  at  the  crash, 
and  was  much  surprised  to  find  Phelps  No.  1  of  the 
female  gender  prone  upon  the  floor,  with  face  and 
hands  cut  with  broken  bits  of  glass. 

The  Mormon  system  adapts  itself  readily  to  popu- 
lar superstitions,  and  infuses  into  them  new  life  and 
activity.  The  reigning  prophet  is  the  only  true  medi- 
um of  a  direct  revelation  from  heaven  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing this,  there  are  any  number  of  dreams  dream- 
ed, and  sights  seen,  of  a  supernatural  character.  The 
saints  are  surrounded  by  the  spirits  of  the  earth  and 
the  air  ;  their  movements  individually  and  collectively 
are  regulated  by  an  invisible  and  supernatural  agency. 
Remarkable  dreams,  and  quasi  visions,  and  strange 
sights,  and  mysterious  omens,  are  exceedingly  com- 
mon, and  are  related  with  grave  solemnity.  One  man 
dreamed  that  a  dead  uncle  appeared  to  him,  and  en- 
treated that  he  would  be  baptized  for  him,  which  of 
course  was  a  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  the  doc- 
trine of  baptism  for  the  dead.  Another  was  perfect- 
ly sure  that  he  had  seen  one  of  the  three  Lamanites 
spoken  of  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  who  were  to  wander 
over  the  earth  until  the  final  consummation  of  all 
things  —  an  idea  borrowed  undoubtedly  from  the  popu- 
lar notion  of  the  "  Wandering  Jew." 

In  their  initiation  into  the  Church,  the  novitiates  are 


312  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

invested  with  a  mysterious  garment  called  the  endow- 
ment rote,  to  which  many  virtues  are  ascribed.  These 
curious  robes  may  be  seen  on  the  clothes-line  in  the 
afternoon  of  every  washing-day,  and  consist  of  a  white 
garment,  made  up  of  common  shirting,  with  strips  and 
crosses  of  scarlet  stitched  in,  emblematical  of  some  of 
their  temple  mysteries.  It  is  believed  that  Doctor 
Richards  had  on  one  of  these  robes,  and  thereby  escaped 
unhurt  at  the  Carthage  jail ;  and  that  Joseph  and  Hy- 
rum  neglected  to  put  them  on,  and  therefore  lost  their 
lives.  The  person  thus  invested  is  supposed  to  be  safe 
against  the  arts  of  the  devil  to  bring  harm  upon  him, 
and  in  a  condition  to  escape  danger  from  shipwreck, 
disease,  bullets,  &c.  Some  of  them  are  so  imbued  with 
this  idea,  that  in  changing  the  garment,  they  will  keep 
one  leg  in  the  old  one  until  they  invest  the  other  with 
the  new,  lest  the  devil  or  some  of  his  imps  should  ob- 
tain a  temporary  advantage. 

Mrs.  Catharine  Lewis  has  given  us  some  insight  into 
the  ceremonies  of  the  first  initiation — the  following  is 
condensed  from  a  pamphlet  written  by  her  while  the 
Saints  were  at  Nauvoo : 

"  She  was  taken  to  the  Temple  at  Nauvoo,  carried  up 
three  flights  of  stairs  to  the  Hall  of  Initiation.  There 
she  was  disrobed,  washed,  and  anointed  with  great  cer- 
emony by  females.  After  the  washing,  a  blanket  was 
put  round  her,  and  the  priestess  whispered  a  new  name 
in  her  ear,  which  she  was  never  to  disclose.  The  next 
ceremony  was  the  garden  of  Eden,  where  one  person, 
representing  Grod,  creates  a  world,  then  makes  man, 
takes  a  rib  and  forms  a  helpmeet  for  him.  Then  an- 
other person,  representing  the  devil,  tempts  Eve  with 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


forbidden  fruit  ;  then  the  men  and  women  hide,  be- 
cause God  is  coming  ;  and  so  they  go  through  a  lot  of 
mummery,  including  the  flaming  sword-  —  the  men 
wearing  nothing  but  white  drawers  with  shirts  over 
them,  and  white  linen  caps.  She  was  required  to  per- 
form several  ceremonies,  such  as  drawing  her  hand 
across  her  throat  as  if  in  the  act  of  cutting,  and  after- 
ward learned  that  it  would  have  been  certain  death  to 
have  resisted.  The  last  sign  was  then  given,  accom- 
panied with  the  incantation,  *  Marrow  in  the  bones, 
strength  in  the  sinews,  and  virtue  in  the  loins  through- 
out all  generations.'  Her  clothes  were  then  restored 
to  her." 

This  lady  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  from  Nau- 
voo  before  being  initiated  into  the  deeper  mysteries. 

In  these  secret  initiatory  rites,  a  curse  is  invoked  by 
each  one  upon  him  or  herself  in  case  of  apostacy,  and, 
in  addition  to  this,  the  prophet  is  careful  to  fulminate 
an  additional  curse  upon  those  who  escape  from  his 
jurisdiction.  These  ecclesiastical  thunders  often  prove 
more  potent  than  would  generally  be  believed.  Many 
persons,  who  feel  themselves  robbed  and  oppressed  by 
the  authorities  of  the  Church,  and  resolve  time  and 
again  to  escape  from  their  unpleasant  situation,  aro 
nevertheless  restrained  and  kept  in  bondage  by  the  su- 
perstitious fear  that  they  may  in  some  way  be  brought 
under  the  curse.  The  discontented  Mormon  mind 
presents  a  singular  bundle  of  contradictions.  I  have 
heard  persons  of  this  description  speak  freely  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  plundered  of  their 
property,  and  of  the  numberless  rascalities  of  Brigham 
and  his  associates,  and  of  the  abominable  and  lament- 

0 


314  UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 

able  effects  of  polygamy,  and  express  their  determina- 
tion to  leave  the  Territory  ;  and  yet  these  same  per- 
sons, even  after  making  some  preparations  for  the  jour- 
ney, would  remember  the  curse  to  which  they  stood 
exposed,  and  slide  tack  into  the  lap  of  Mormonism, 
the  passive  slaves  of  this  gross  and  filthy  imposture. 
The  leaders  take  unwearied  pains  to  ascertain  the  sub- 
sequent history  of  those  who  have  apostatized,  and 
publish  in  the  pulpit  and  by  the  press  cases  in  which 
they  have  met  with  misfortune,  some  of  which — 
whether  in  the  form  of  destruction  of  property  by  fire 
or  otherwise,  or  untimely  death — are  supposed  to  have 
been  produced  by  the  direct  agency  of  the  Saints  them- 
selves. 

Among  other  singular  institutions,  they  have  a  Pa- 
triarch, whose  business  it  is  to  bestow  blessings.  The 
blessing  is  given  in  writing  to  the  applicant,  who  pays 
for  the  same  one  dollar  and  a  half,  of  which  one  dollar 
belongs  to  the  Patriarch,  and  the  balance  is  paid  to  the 
scribe  for  recording  the  document.  This  constitutes  a 
revenue  similar  to  that  procured  from  the  sale  of  in- 
dulgences, or  of  masses  in  popish  times.  At  an  early 
period,  the  mantle  of  patriarchal  inspiration  fell  upon 
Uncle  John  Smith — it  now  covers  the  shoulders  of  Un- 
cle Joseph  Smith.  It  seems  to  be  necessary  that  the 
incumbent  should  be  an  uncle  and  a  Smith :  there  is 
no  danger  of  the  failure  of  the  latter,  and  it  is  sup- 
posed the  former  will  last  the  few  years  yet  remain- 
ing before  the  great  terrestrial  clock  finally  runs  down. 

These  blessings,  like  the  endowment  robes,  are  sup- 

.  posed  to  possess  wonderful  virtues  in  protecting  the 

subjects  of  them  from  misfortune.     A  simple  fool,  by 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 


the  name  of  Colborn,  took  great  apparent  satisfaction 
in  exhibiting  a  blessing  he  had  received  from  the  ver- 
itable John  Smith,  while  in  Nauvoo  in  1835.  It  cov- 
ered two  pages,  and  promised  him  almost  every  thing, 
and,  among  them,  freedom  from  poverty  and  disease. 
He  had,  previous  to  this,  been  trying  to  excite  sympa- 
thy by  complaining  of  his  miserable  state  of  poverty 
and  disease  ever  since  he  came  to  the  valley  ;  he  was, 
nevertheless,  fully  persuaded  that  the  blessing  had  been 
fulfilled  to  the  very  letter. 

Any  number  of  conversions  can  be  traced  to  the 
supposed  performance  of  miracles,  among  which  the 
exercise  of  the  gift  of  tongues  is  very  conspicuous. 
One  man  stated  that  he  was  listening  to  a  discourse  by 
a  Mormon  elder,  who  all  at  once  let  forth  a  perfect  flood 
of  language  entirely  new  to  him.  It  caused  "  a  sud- 
den thrill,"  as  he  described  it,  "  from  the  back  of  his 
head  down  his  back-bone  ;"  and,  of  course,  he  was  con- 
verted from  that  hour.  Another  compared  it  to  a  shock 
of  electricity. 

These  miraculous  powers  are  generally  taken  upon 
trust.  A  Mormon  lady  related  the  case  of  an  elder  so 
ignorant  that  he  could  neither  read  nor  write,  who  was 
a  remarkably  fluent  preacher,  and  could  repeat  the 
Bible  from  beginning  to  end  without  missing  a  word. 
On  being  asked  how  he  obtained  such  a  knowledge  of 
the  Bible,  he  answered  that  it  was  given  him  of  the 
Spirit  while  he  was  preaching.  This  fellow  afterward 
apostatized,  but,  notwithstanding,  she  still  persisted  in 
the  most  implicit  faith  in  his  supernatural  knowledge. 

A  Mrs.  "Western,  an  old  and  simple-minded  lady,  re- 
lates that  she  was  dissatisfied  with  all  other  doctrines 


31(5  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

and  preachings  because  no  claim  was  made  to  the 
signs  which  are  to  follow  those  who  believe,  and  that 
she  was  converted  by  the  first  Mormon  sermon  she 
heard  because  the  elder  claimed  to  be  in  the  possession 
of  these  proofs  of  discipleship,  and  actually  joined  the 
Church  with  no  other  evidence  that  he  possessed  them 
except  his  own  assertion.  She  really  believes  she  was 
healed  twice  miraculously,  once  by  consecrated  oil  and 
the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  once  by  baptism ;  and  it 
was  a  great  mystery  to  her  that  she  could  not  be  so 
healed  at  other  times.  It  seems  she  was  at  one  period 
very  anxious  to  have  a  demonstration  of  the  gift  of 
tongues.  Lodging  one  night  with  a  woman  who  pre- 
tended to  the  gift,  her  artful  companion  broke  out  in 
her  sleep  with  a  song  in  an  unknown  tongue,  and, 
after  an  interval  of  genuine  snoring,  tuned  up  her 
pipes  in  English  by  way  of  translation.  This,  with 
other  things,  so  completely  fastened  the  simple-minded 
old  lady,  that  the  plurality  system,  though  it  greatly 
shocked  her  when  introduced,  did  not  drive  her  off. 
She  now  consoles  herself  that  it  was  permitted  to  try 
the  Church,  and  will  eventually  be  abolished.  She 
became  a  convert  at  a  time  of  life  when  she  could  not 
be  an  object  of  desire  to  any  of  the  Latter-day  ba- 
shaws, and  has  escaped  contamination  from  the  worst 
pollutions  of  Mormonism. 

So  generally  diffused  is  the  notion  that  our  bodies 
are  tabernacles  for  pre-existing  spirits  to  enter  into, 
that  mothers  pretend  to  surmise  from  what  particular 
tribe  their  children  come  from.  One  lady  gravely 
stated  that  her  little  Ruth  came  from  the  tribe  of 
Joseph.  "  She  is  a  selfish  little  thing,"  said  she, 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


"  and,  you  know,  Joseph  knew  how  to  feather  his  own 
nest." 

The  Mormons  justify  slavery,  and  would  be  slave- 
holders upon  religious  principle  if  in  their  power.  It 
will  be  recollected  that,  in  the  grand  council  of  the 
gods  convened  to  deliberate  on  the  salvation  of  the 
human  race,  the  devil  and  his  adherents  raised  a  fac- 
tious opposition  to  Christ,  and  were  defeated,  cursed, 
and  banished.  They  believe  that  the  spirit  of  one  of 
this  crew  entered  into  the  tabernacle  called  Cain  and 
committed  the  first  murder,  and  that  the  negroes  aro 
descendants  of  Cain,  and  furnish  tabernacles  for  these 
pre-existing  devils.  They  believe  that  they  have  a 
black  skin  because  they  are  under  a  curse,  and  that  it 
is  perfectly  right  for  those  having  white  skins  to  carry 
the  celestial  sentence  into  execution  by  enslaving  them. 
I  asked  one  of  the  elders  how  this  sable  pedigree  es- 
caped the  flood  :  his  answer  was,  that  Ham's  wife  was 
a  descendant  of  Cain,  and  was  saved  in  the  ark,  and 
that  the  same  curse  was  subsequently  pronounced  upon 
Ham. 


318  UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Manner  of  making  Converts. — Doctor  Cox. — English  Converts. — Con- 
tinual Loss  of  Members. — Dissensions. — Gladdenism. — Apparent 
Decline  of  Mormonism. — Decrease  of  Population. — Present  Charac- 
ter of  its  Missionaries. — Conclusion. 

THE  Mormons  have  had  great  success  in  making 
converts  by  the  boldness  of  their  pretensions,  and  tho 
hardihood  of  their  manner  of  recommending  them. 
Doctor  Cox,  in  his  "  Interviews,"  gives  us  a  very  char- 
acteristic instance  of  an  attempt  to  convert  him  on  the 
part  of  two  of  Joseph's  missionaries.  They  called  one 
Sabbath  morning,  and  in  a  very  solemn  and  imposing 
manner  addressed  him  as  "  Brother  Cox,  a  man  of  Grod, 
a  friend  of  truth,  a  lover  of  righteousness,  and  a  preach- 
er of  the  Gospel,"  and  announced  that  they  had  been 
sent  on  a  special  mission  to  him ;  and  that  he  was  to 
become  a  Latter-day  Saint,  and  rise  to  great  eminence 
in  the  new  Zion.  The  doctor  called  for  some  mirac- 
ulous demonstration  by  way  of  credential,  which  they 
declined  exhibiting  just  then,  although  they  claimed 
the  power  to  do  so.  The  Saints  possess  great  cunning 
in  adapting  themselves  to  the  peculiar  temperaments 
and  idiosyncracies  of  individuals  ;  but  in  this  instance 
they  mistook  their  man.  The  interview  ran  into  a 
dialogue,  which  warmed  into  animation,  of  which  tho 
following — No.  1  representing  the  Doctor,  and  2  and  3 
his  visitors — will  give  the  reader  some  idea : 

1.  "  I  shall  not  stir  another  step  in  this  business  till 


UTAH    AND   THE    MORMONS. 


I  sec  the  evidence  on  which  you  rely,  as  self-vaunted 
envoys  extraordinary  and  ministers  plenipotentiary 
from  the  court  of  the  King  of  kings,  to  sustain  your 
apostolicity  and  vindicate  your  claims.  Here,  then,  I 
take  my  stand,  and  call  for  evidence  —  for  proof.  How 
am  I  to  know,  gentlemen,  that  you  are  not  impostors  ?" 
3.  "  You  had  better  take  care,  sir,  what  you  say. 
The  evidence  may  come  sooner  than  you  desire,  and 
as  you  do  not  expect,  and  what  you  will  not  relish,  sure 
enough  !  I  \vould  just  warn  you  to  beware  !" 

1.  "  You  mean  that  the  evidence  may  surprise  me, 
coining  in  the  way  and  style  of  some  divine  judgment  ?" 

3.  "  Yes,  sir,  I  do  ;  and  I  hereby  warn  you  against 
it." 

2.  "Oh!  if  it  should  come  now,  what  would  be- 
come —  " 

1.  "Very  well,  gentlemen,  I  am  ready,  and  quite 
content.  Send  a  good  rousing  judgment  along—  -a  lit- 
tle touch  of  earthquake,  some  thunder  and  lightning, 
cholera  morbus,  palsy,  volcano,  avalanche,  nightmare, 
gout,  ship  fever,  neuralgia,  or  any  thing  else  you  please  ; 
yes,  little  or  much  of  it,  gentlemen,  and  the  sooner  the 
better,  as  I  am  ready,  if  you  are,  and  quite  disposed  to 
be  accommodating." 

3.  "  Sir,  are  you  forgetting  yourself  all  the  time  ?" 

1.  "Not  at  all;  I  am  only  remembering  you.     Let 
us  have  some  of  the  evidence.     Come!  your  testimo- 
nials, your  seals,  your  signs,  gentlemen." 

2.  "  Why,  I  never  saw  or  heard  such  a  man  as  you  !" 

1.  "  Nor  I  ever  read  or  conceived  before  of  such  men 
or  such  apostles,  exactly,  as  are  you." 

2.  "  I  fear  you  are  a  hardened  old  —  " 


320  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

3.  "  Yes,  and  blinded,  too,  with  darkness." 

1.  ""Why,  surely  there  seems  to  "be  considerable 
darkness  in  my  study — more  than  common  this  after- 
noon— and  I  wish  there  were  more  air,  since  light  seems 
so  scarce,  and  heat  so  oppressive  in  it." 

3.  "  Sir,  to  tell  you  plainly,  you  are  a  hardened  man 
and  a  hypocrite — given  up— reprobate." 

2.  "  Oh,  how  dark — dark — dark  you  are  !" 

3.  "  Yes,  you  are  a  hypocrite,  a  liar,  sir ;  and  I 
know — " 

1.  "  Stay  just  a  moment.  Pray,  be  quite  calm.  I 
can  refute  all  that  instantly  on  the  authority  of  two 
apostles.  Instead  of  liar,  hypocrite,  reprobate,  I  am, 
you  remember,  <  Brother  Cox,  a  man  of  God,  a  friend 
of  truth,  a  lover  of  righteousness,  and  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.'  This  is  a  great  honor—quite  a  high  and  a 
memorable  endorsement.  It  is,  at  least,  the  exalted 
character  I  had  a  few  hours  since.  If  I  have  it  not 
yet,  but  have  grown  so  bad  all  at  once,  as  you  now  de- 
nounce me,  it  must  be  because  I  have  been  some  time 
in  your  company." 

The  affair  ended  in  a  very  unequivocal  hint  for  the 
intruders  to  quit  the  premises,  which  they  did,  mutter- 
ing all  sorts  of  maledictions.  But  where  one  experi- 
ment like  that  of  Doctor  Cox  failed,  hundreds  of  others 
succeeded,  until  the  increasing  numbers  of  their  com- 
munity became  an  inducement  to  join  it,  irrespective 
of  any  religious  convictions. 

The  facility  with  which  they  have  made  converts  in 
Great  Britain  has  created  surprise,  but  it  is  very  easily 
accounted  for.  In  the  first  place,  with  all  her  light  and 
knowledge,  there  is  in  our  mother  country  a  lament- 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 


able  mass  of  ignorance.  Mr.  Dickens,  in  his  Household 
Words,  says  on  this  subject  :  "It  has  been  calculated 
that  there  are  in  England  and  Wales  six  million  per- 
sons who  can  neither  read  nor  write;  that  is  to  say, 
about  one  third  of  the  population,  including,  of  course, 
infants  ;  but,  of  all  the  children  between  five  and  four- 
teen, more  than  one  half  attend  no  place  of  public  in- 
struction. These  statements,  compiled  by  M'Kay  from 
official  and  other  authentic  sources,  for  his  work  on  the 
social  condition  and  education  of  the  poor  in  England 
and  Europe,  would  be  hard  to  believe,  if  we  had  not  to 
encounter,  in  our  every-day  life,  degrees  of  illiteracy 
which  would  be  startling  if  we  were  not  thoroughly 
used  to  it.  We  can  not  pass  through  the  streets,  we 
can  not  enter  a  place  of  public  assembly,  or  ramble  in 
the  fields,  without  the  gloomy  shadow  of  ignorance 
sweeping  over  us." 

In  the  next  place,  thousands,  who  have  no  fixed  re- 
ligious faith,  are  discontented  with  their  condition,  and 
anxious  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  and  very  willingly 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  of  having  their  ex- 
penses paid  by  the  "  Emigrating  Fund  Company." 
Deseret  is  described  to  them  as  a  perfect  paradise  ;  and 
that  which  makes  this  Eden  doubly  attractive  is,  that 
each  one  can  have  as  much  as  he  needs  without  pay- 
ing a  cent  for  it.  The  more  pretending  and  ambitious 
class  of  these  converts  are  greatly  elated,  too,  with  the 
idea  of  becoming  priests,  bishops,  &c.,  which,  in  Eng- 
land, are  stations  of  importance.  These  foreign  emi- 
grants, after  they  get  to  Utah,  make  the  most  obedient 
subjects,  because  they  are  accustomed  to  tithing,  and 
other  features  of  an  ecclesiastical  dominion  ;  they  glide 

02 


322  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

easily  into  all  the  wild  and  absurd  notions  of  Mormon- 
ism,  and  are  more  easily  kept  in  debt  to  the  "  Public 
Works,"  and  consequently  in  entire  dependence  upon 
the  Church.  As  poor  as  they  live  in  Utah,  they  still 
fare  better  than  formerly,  and  are  contented  in  this 
respect.  This  is  the  general  rule,  which  has  its  nu- 
merous exceptions.  A  sail-maker  and  boat-builder, 
both  Englishmen,  left  in  discontent  for  California  in 
the  spring  of  1853,  because  it  had  been  represented  to 
them  that  the  commerce  of  Great  Salt  Lake  was  so 
extensive  as  to  furnish  them  continual  employment, 
which  they  found  to  be  a  sheer  falsehood. 

The  Mormon  rulers  take  great  pains  to  have  it  be- 
lieved that  their  community  is  continually  and  rapid- 
ly increasing.  This,  however,  is  a  very  great  mistake. 
There  has  always  been  a  curious  state  of  accumula- 
tion and  loss  going  on  with  them,  and  the  loss  is  at  pres- 
ent probably  the  largest  part  of  the  account.  There  is 
no  society  in  the  world  in  which  there  are  so  few  per- 
manent members,  in  proportion  to  the  converts  origin- 
ally made.  Many  of  the  new-born  Saints  very  soon 
lose  the  soda-water  enthusiasm  which  is  first  experi- 
enced, and  fall  away  ;  many,  who  have  zeal  enough  to 
commence  the  mighty  pilgrimage  toward  the  modern 
Zion,  cool  off,  and  lodge  like  drift-wood  by  the  way. 
Each  emigrating  body  tapers  off,  something  like  the 
arrny  of  Peter  the  Hermit  in  the  first  great  crusade. 
Orson  Pratt,  in  "  The  Seer"  states  the  number  of  ex- 
communications in  the  British  Islands  at  1776  for 
the  half  year  ending  June  30,  1853.  They  have,  in 
reality,  more  backsliders  and  apostates,  and  are  divided 
into  more  sects,  for  the  length  of  time  since  their  com- 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  393 

mencement,  than  any  other  known  religious  denomina- 
tion. Any  one  who  has  ever  seen  a  miniature  whirl- 
wind upon  a  dusty  plain,  and  attentively  watched  its 
gyrations,  catching  up  the  dust,  straws,  leaves,  and 
other  loose  materials,  and  gradually  increasing  in  bulk 
and  altitude  until  it  is  composed  of  a  whirling  and 
somewhat  dangerous  column  of  heterogeneous  mat- 
ter, throwing  off  and  gathering  up,  until  it  somewhat 
suddenly  subsides,  can  gain  some  idea  of  the  associa- 
tion and  operation  of  those  peculiar  elements  which 
originated  and  have  sustained  Mormonism  ;  and  it 
needs  no  great  degree  of  prophet-sagacity  to  foresee  its 
subsidence  in  like  manner. 

This  disposition  to  fall  away  does'  not  end  at  Great 
Salt  Lake  Valley.  Hundreds,  after  they  arrive  at  that 
hitherto  esteemed  goal  of  all  their  wishes,  find  them- 
selves bitterly  disappointed  in  the  anticipations  and 
hopes  previously  formed,  and  seek  every  opportunity 
to  make  their  way  to  California.  The  leaders  are  very 
anxious  to  gain  sufficient  population  to  raise  the  Ter- 
ritory to  the  rank  of  a  state ;  and  on  this,  as  well  as 
other  grounds,  throw  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  those 
who  are  disposed  to  leave  them.  California  has  ac- 
quired, in  their  dialect,  the  delightful  sobriquet  of 
HELL,  and  the  pulpit  and  the  press  thunder  forth  their 
anathemas  against  all  Saints  who  are  turning  their 
faces  in  that  direction.  At  the  near  approach  of  every 
spring,  which  is  more  especially  the  season  of  emigra- 
tion to  the  great  Western  El  Dorado,  the  most  untir- 
ing efforts  are  made  to  prevent  their  numbers  from  di- 
minishing. In  addition  to  direct  and  indirect  obsta- 
cles thrown  in  the  way  of  individuals,  an  appeal  is  gen- 


324  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

erally  made  to  the  Saints  collectively  by  the  "  Coun- 
cil" of  which  the  following,  from  the  one  published  in 
the  Deseret  News  of  February  19,  1853,  will  exhibit 
the  anxiety  felt  lest  the  Mormon  ship  should  be  desert- 
ed by  her  crew. 

"  A  Word  to  the  Saints. 

"  '  Yes !  I  think  I  shall  go  south,  probably  to  the 
Kanche.  As  I  am  counseled  to  go  south,  I  have  con- 
cluded, perhaps,  that  this  will  be  the  best  for  me.' 

"  This  is  the  story  of  many,  as  it  is  frequently  told, 
and  comes  to  my  ears ;  and  it  is  upon  this  point  that  I 
wish  to  speak. 

"  Do  I  counsel  the  brethren  to  go  to  California,  south 
or  north  ?  Not  unless  they  want  to  go.  If  there  is 
any  man,  woman,  or  child,  who  desires  to  go  to  that 
country,  in  preference  to  casting  his  or  their  lot  among 
the  Saints — who  feels  so  little  interest  in  the  cause  of 
truth  as  to  be  willing,  after  being  delivered  from  the 
Great  Babylon,  to  again  encounter  the  whirlpools  of 
sin  and  wickedness  for  the  sake  of  gold — who  prefers 
to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness  than  to  tarry  among 
the  Saints — to  any  and  all  such  persons,  I  say,  go; 
for  Heaven's  sake,  for  our  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
gold  which  you  desire  before  all  other  gods,  go !  But 
to  all  others — to  all  such  as  have  embraced  the  Gospel 
for  the  love  which  they  bear  toward  it — who  love  right- 
eousness and  truth,  and  who  desire  the  peace  of  Jeru- 
salem and  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  stay  !  hold!  con- 
sider what  you  are  doing,  and  remember  that  here,  in 
these  valleys,  are  the  chambers  of  the  Lord  for  his 
people  for  a  season. 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  335 

"  Let  no  influence  tempt  you  away,  or  seduce  you 
from  the  path  of  duty.  As  you  value  your  religion, 
which  you  have  become  the  participants  of  through 
the  channel  of  the  holy  and  eternal  priesthood  of  the 
Almighty,  which  in  these  last  days  he  has  seen  fit  to 
bestow  upon  mankind — as  you  value  the  excellence 
and  the  glory  of  the  institutions  of  the  people  of  (rod — 
as  you  value  your  own  salvation  and  exaltation,  and 
that  of  your  kindred  according  to  the  flesh,  as  well  as 
the  redemption  of  your  dead,  listen  to  the  counselings 
of  the  servants  of  God,  and  abide  among  his  saints, 
until  you  are  sent  away  to  the  nations  which  lieth  in 
darkness.  Until  you  shall  be  chosen  as  heralds  of  sal- 
vation, to  go  forth  with  majesty  and  power  of  the  eter- 
nal priesthood,  remain,  and  assist  in  preparing  for  the 
great  and  mighty  gathering  of  the  Saints — assist  in 
the  construction  of  a  holy  temple,  which  is  to  be  built 
in  the  tops  of  the  mountains  to  the  name  of  the  mighty 
Grod  of  Jacob,  in  which  you  can  learn  those  ordinan- 
ces necessary  for  the  salvation  of  your  dead,  and  can 
obtain  your  endowment,  and  the  blessings  which  shall 
secure  your  exaltation  in  the  kingdom  of  our  G*od, 
even  to  a  place  among  the  gods  of  eternity." 

A  stranger  going  among  them  will  be  told  over  and 
over  again  that  they  are  the  most  harmonious  and 
united  people  ever  gathered  into  a  community.  The 
contrary  is  the  fact.  Internal  dissensions  and  schisms 
have  existed  among  them  all  the  way  through.  The 
immortal  Joseph  himself  was  often  driven  to  his  very 
wit's  end  to  prevent  fragments  from  flying  off  in  a  tan- 
gent and  making  themselves  independent  of  the  main 
body.  After  the  death  of  Smith,  there  was  much  strife 


326  UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

for  the  succession,  and  the  election  of  Brigham  Young 
occasioned  a  great  deal  of  heart-burning  with  the  dis- 
appointed candidates.  At  the  breaking  up  at  Nauvoo, 
a  considerable  number  split  off,  under  the  leadership 
of  one  Strang,  and  are  now  Strangites,  on  Beaver  Isl- 
and, in  one  of  our  northern  lakes.  Another  body  went 
into  Texas  under  Lyman  Wight.  Brewster  led  off 
another  squad  somewhere  else.  The  divisions  in  this 
way  are  said  to  number  six  or  seven.  Brigham  man- 
aged to  slide  more  easily  into  the  superstition  and  idio- 
syncracies  of  the  Saints,  and  led  the  mass  to  Great 
Salt  Lake ;  but  he,  too,  has  his  troubles  from  this 
source,  and  is  now  more  especially  plagued  with 
Gladdenism,  so  called  from  Gladden  Bishop,  who  pro- 
fanely claims  to  be  as  much  superior  to  Joseph  Smith 
as  our  Lord  was  to  John  the  Baptist.  This  Gladden 
gave  Joseph  much  trouble  ;  was  cut  off  from  the 
Church,  and  taken  back,  and  rebaptized  nine  times ; 
but,  proving  obstinate  in  heresy,  was  finally  given  over 
to  the  buffetings  of  Satan  for  a  thousand  years. 

This  sect  is  small,  but  spreading  in  the  very  seat  of 
Mormon  power,  and  is  the  more  dangerous  and  troub- 
lesome because  composed  of  the  more  fanatical  of  the 
Saints.  Fanaticism  is  generally  honest,  but  always 
dangerous,  because  no  one  can  foresee  in  what  direc- 
tion its  burning  focus  may  be  turned.  I  met  with, 
and  became  acquainted  with,  some  of  these  fanatics, 
and  have  no  reason  to  doubt  their  honesty  in  the  belief 
that  Gladden  Bishop  is  the  Lord  in  his  second  coming. 
One  of  them  told  me,  with  every  appearance  of  sincer- 
ity, that  an  angel  was  present  at  his  birth,  and  that 
the  name  Gladden  was  never  before  given  to  a  human 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  397 

being,  and  signified  that  he  would  make  glad  the 
hearts  of  his  people.  It  may  well  be  suspected  that 
Joseph  intended  to  take  this  important  step  himself, 
and  expand  from  the  germ  of  a  prophet  into  the  full 
bloom  of  a  god.  In  his  last  sermon  he  said,  "  I  can 
enter  into  the  mysteries ;  I  can  enter  largely  into  the 
eternal  worlds."  He  could  have  proved  his  way  clear 
from  the  Bible  and  the  Book  of  Mormon  just  as  easily 
as  the  Mormons  prove  any  thing,  and  all  the  dupes 
and  most  of  the  knaves  would  have  followed  him. 
But  Gladden  anticipated  him,  and  death  cut  short  his 
aspirations  for  divine  honors. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  SMITH — which,  like  that  of 
the  king,  is  "  a  tower  of  strength"— -was  busy  making 
converts  in  the  winter  of  1852-3,  with  such  success 
that  Brigham  and  his  nobility  became  seriously  alarm- 
ed. Instead,  however,  of  treating  the  subject  with 
ridicule,  they  resorted  to  the  very  doubtful  expedient 
of  persecution. 

Smith,  the  Gladdenite,  repudiates  polygamy,  and 
charges  the  present  hierarchy  with  a  departure  from 
the  Book  of  Mormon  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  par- 
ticulars. He  has  great  tenacity  of  purpose,  and  is, 
withal,  stimulated  by  hostility  toward  the  leaders,  on 
account  of  having  been  stripped  by  them  of  his  prop- 
erty. On  Sunday,  the  20th  of  March,  1853,  ho  at- 
tempted to  preach  in  the  street  in  front  of  the  Council 
House,  in  pursuance  of  a  previous  notice,  but  the 
meeting,  though  perfectly  orderly,  was  dispersed  by 
the  city  marshal.  Nothing  daunted,  he  made  another 
appointment  for  the  same  place  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath ;  but  the  marshal  again  appeared,  took  Smith  into 


328  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

custody,  and  detained  him  until  he  promised  to  make 
no  further  attempt  to  preach  on  that  day.  On  the 
same  day,  Brigham  preached  in  the  Tabernacle,  and 
opened  his  Latteries  upon  the  heretics  with  grape  and 
canister.  The  following  are  some  of  the  choice  speci- 
mens of  pulpit  eloquence  produced  by  the  inspiration 
of  the  occasion : 

"  When  a  man  comes  right  out  as  an  independent 
devil,  and  says,  *  Damn  Mormonism  and  all  the  Mor- 
mons,' and  is  off  with  himself,  not  to  Texas,  but  to 
California  (you  know  it  used  to  be  to  Texas),  I  say  he  is 
a  gentleman  by  the  side  of  a  nasty,  sneaking  apostate, 
who  is  opposed  to  nothing  but  Christianity ;  I  say  to 
him,  Go  in  peace,  sir ;  go,  and  prosper,  if  you  can. 
But  we  have  got  a  set  of  spirits  here  worse  than  such 
a  character.  When  I  went  from  meeting  last  Sab- 
bath, my  ears  were  saluted  with  an  apostate  crying  in 
the  streets  here.  We  want  such  men  to  go  to  Califor- 
nia, or  any  where  they  choose.  I  say  to  those  persons, 
You  must  not  court  persecution  here,  lest  you  get  so 
much  of  it  you  will  not  know  \vhat  to  do  writh  it.  Do 
NOT  court  persecution.  We  have  known  Grladden  Bish- 
op for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  know  him  to  be  a 
poor,  dirty  curse.  Here  is  Sister  Vilate  Kimball, 
Brother  Heber's  wife,  has  borne  more  from  that  man 
than  any  other  woman  on  earth  could  bear ;  but  she 
won't  bear  it  again.  I  say  again,  You  GHaddenites, 
do  not  court  persecution,  or  you  will  get  more  than  you 
want,  and  it  will  come  quicker  than  you  want  it.  I 
say  to  you  bishops,  Do  not  allow  them  to  preach  in 
your  wards.  Who  broke  the  roads  to  these  valleys  ? 
did  this  little  nasty  Smith  and  his  wife  ?  No ;  they 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  339 

stayed  in  St.  Louis  while  we  did  it,  peddling  ribbons 
and  kissing  the  Grentiles.  I  know  what  they  have 
done  here  ;  they  have  asked  exorbitant  prices  for  their 
nasty,  stinking  ribbons  [voices,  <  That's  true'].  We 
broke  the  roads  to  this  country.  Now,  you  G  ladden- 
ites,  keep  your  tongues  still,  lest  sudden  destruction 
come  upon  you. 

"  I  will  tell  you  a  dream  that  I  had  last  night.  I 
dreamed  that  I  was  in  the  midst  of  a  people  who  were 
dressed  in  rags  and  tatters ;  they  had  turbans  upon 
their  heads,  and  these  were  also  hanging  in  tatters. 
The  rags  were  of  many  colors,  and,  when  the  people 
moved,  they  were  all  in  motion.  Their  object  in  this 
appeared  to  be  to  attract  attention.  Said  they  to  me, 
'  We  are  Mormons,  Brother  Brigham.'  '  No,  you  are 
not,'  I  replied.  <  But  ive  have  been,'  said  they,  and 
began  to  jump,  and  caper  about,  and  dance,  and  their 
rags  of  many  colors  were  all  in  motion  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  people.  I  said,  '  You  are  no  Saints  ; 
you  are  a  disgrace  to  them.'  Said  they,  '  We  have 
been  Mormons?  By-and-by  along  came  some  mob- 
ocrats,  and  they  greeted  them  with  '  How  do  you  do, 
sir  ?  I  am  happy  to  see  you.'  They  kept  on  that  way 
for  an  hour.  I  felt  ashamed  of  them,  for  they  were, 
in  rny  eyes,  a  disgrace  to  Mormonism.  Then  I  saw 
two  ruffians,  whom  I  knew  to  be  mobbers  and  murder- 
ers, and  they  crept  into  a  bed  where  one  of  my  wives 
and  children  were.  I  said,  <  You  that  call  yourselves 
brethren,  tell  me,  is  this  the  fashion  among  you  ?'  They 
said , '  0,  they  are  good  men — they  are  gentlemen.'  With 
that,  I  took  my  large  bowie  knife,  that  I  used  to  wear 
as  a  bosom-pin  in  Nauvoo,  and  cut  one  of  their  throats 


330  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

from  ear  to  ear,  saying,  '  Gro  to  hell  across  lots.'  The 
other  one  said,  '  You  dare  not  serve  me  so.'  I  instant- 
ly sprang  at  him,,  seized  him  by  the  hair  of  the  head, 
and,  bringing  him  down,  cut  his  throat  and  sent  him 
after  his  comrade.;  then  told  them  both,  if  they  would 
behave  themselves,  they  should  yet  live,  but  if  they 
did  not,  I  would  unjoint  their  necks.  At  this  I  awoke. 

"I  say,  rather  than  that  apostates  shall  flourish  here, 
I  will  unsheath  my  bowie  knife,  and  conquer  or  die. 
(Great  commotion  in  the  congregation,  and  a  simul- 
taneous burst  of  feeling  assenting  to  the  declaration.) 
Now,  you  nasty  apostates,  clear  out,  or  judgment  will 
be  put  to  the  line,  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet. 
(Voices  generally,  '  Go  it,  go  it.')  If  you  say  it  is 
right,  raise  your  hands.  (All  hands  up.)  Let  us  call 
upon  the  Lord  to  assist  us  in  this  and  every  good 
work." 

No  better  evidence  of  the  success  of  the  new  sect 
need  be  produced.  His  excellency  would  never  have 
made  so  sublime  a  display  of  courage  involving  the 
dreadful  alternative  of  "victory  or  death,"  nor  been 
disturbed  in  his  very  dreams  at  the  invasion  of  the 
sanctity  of  his  harem,  had  he  not  been  strongly  excited 
in  regard  to  the  spread  of  Grladdenism.  This  discourse, 
so  characteristic  of  its  author,  was  rapturously  received, 
and  was  as  well  adapted  to  the  taste  and  scope  of  the 
Mormon  mind  as  any  the  Saints  ever  hear. 

Brigham  was  succeeded  by  Parley  P.  Pratt,  who  has 
more  decency  of  language,  as  well  as  more  subtlety  of 
genius,  combined  with  much  complacency  of  manner ; 
but  even  he  was  on  this  occasion  aroused  up  to  a  fight- 
ing condition.  After  showing  that  all  the  persecutions 


UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS.  33^ 


ever  suffered  by  the  Latter-day  innocents  proceeded 
directly  or  indirectly  from  apostates,  he  said  : 

"  Sooner  than  be  subjected  to  a  repetition  of  these 
wrongs,  /,  for  one,  would  rather  march  out  to-day  and 
be  shot  down.  These  are  my  feelings,  and  have  been 
for  some  time.  Talk  about  liberty  of  conscience  !  Have 
not  men  liberty  of  conscience  here  ?  Yes  ;  the  Pres- 
byterians, Methodists,  Quakers,  &c.,  have  here  the  lib- 
erty to  worship  God  in  their  own  way,  and  so  has 
every  man  in  the  world.  People  have  the  privilege  of 
apostatizing  from  this  Church,  and  of  worshiping  dev- 
ils, snakes,  toads,  or  geese,  if  they  please — only  let  their 
neighbors  alone.  But  they  have  not  the  privilege  to 
disturb  the  peace,  or  to  endanger  life  or  liberty ;  that 
is  the  idea.  If  they  will  take  that  privilege,  I  need 
not  repeat  their  doom ;  it  has  been  told  here  to-day. 
They  have  been  faithfully  warned." 

He  proved,  to  his  entire  satisfaction  and  that  of  his 
audience,  that  the  Mormon  mind  had  become  so  full 
of  truth,  that,  like  Salt  Lake,  it  could  hold  no  more  in 
solution,  and  that  liberty  of  speech  to  the  Grladdenites 
is  only  another  name  for  the  persecution  of  the  Saints. 

"We  have  truths  already  developed,  unfulfilled  by 
us,  unacted  upon.  There  are  more  truths  poured  out 
from  the  eternal  fountain  already  than  our  minds  can 
contain,  or  than  we  have  places  and  preparations  to 
carry  out.  And  yet  we  are  called  upon  to  prove — 
what  ?  Whether  an  egg  that  ivas  known  to  be  rot- 
ten fifteen  years  ago  has  really  improved  by  reason 
of  age  !  !  ! 

"  <  You  are  going  to  be  destroyed^  say  they ;  <  de- 
struction awaits  this  city!'  "Well,  what  if  we  are? 


332  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

We  are  as  able  to  be  destroyed  as  any  people  living. 
What  care  we  whether  we  are  destroyed  or  not  ?  These 
old  tabernacles  will  die  of  themselves,  if  let  alone. 

"It  is  policy  not  to  wait  till  you  are  killed,  but  act 
on  the  defensive  while  you  still  live.  I  have  said 
enough  on  this  subject." 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  guarantees  to 
all  liberty  of  speech,  and  the  Saints  claim  to  be  much 
attached  to  that  instrument,  alleging  even  that  it  was 
given  by  inspiration ;  but  somehow  the  Mormon  spec- 
tacles are  of  a  quality  which  prevents  them  from  see- 
ing this  particular  provision.  Every  man  at  Salt  Lake 
Valley  is  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  this  liberty  only  so 
far  as  he  preaches  Mor monism  as  understood  by  "Coun- 
cil." 

On  Sunday,  the  27th  of  March,  the  subject  was 
again  resumed  at  the  Tabernacle  by  Elder  Erastus 
Snow,  in  a  sermon  distinguished  by  its  profanity  and 
brutal  ferocity.  This  was  not  reported  for  the  Deseret 
News,  and  the  substance  of  it  can  only  be  stated  from 
memory.  He  began  with  the  most  sickening  and  ful- 
some adulation  of  the  bashaw  of  forty  tails  who  at 
present  occupies  the  high  and  mighty  position  of  the 
prophet  of  the  Lord  in  "  these  last  days  ;"  after  which, 
by  way  of  lashing  himself  into  a  fury,  he  poured  forth 
a  torrent  of  invective  against  the  Gentiles.  He  then 
took  up  the  Grladdenites,  and  hoped  the  Lord  would 
curse  and  destroy  them.  He  plainly  told  the  audience 
that  whoever  should  be  the  executioners  of  divine  jus- 
tice in  this  case,  and  slay  the  Grladdenites,  their  wives 
and  children,  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  would  receive 
a  bright  crown  of  glory.  The  injunction  to  assassinate 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  333 

these  sectaries  was  open  and  undisguised,  and  repeated 
in  a  variety  of  forms,  and,  what  is  more  to  be  lament- 
ed, was  approvingly  responded  to  by  the  audience.  It 
was  a  sphere  of  murder,  plain,  palpable,  frightful,  and 
sickening.  The  picture  was  one  which,  once  seen,  can 
never  be  effaced  from  the  mind — a  preacher  in  the 
pulpit  ferociously  enjoining  the  murder  of  men,  wom- 
en, and  children,  for  a  difference  of  opinion,  and  2000 
faces  intently  gazing  upon  him  with  fanatical  appro- 
bation. The  regions  of  the  damned  could  scarcely  pre- 
sent a  scene  more  truly  diabolical.  A  Grentile  emigrant 
present  stood  it  as  long  as  he  could,  but  finally  left  the 
Tabernacle  with  compressed  lips  and  clenched  fist,  and 
evidently  under  an  uncontrollable  fit  of  indignant  ex- 
citement. This  is  Mormonism !  These  are  the  people 
who  have  made  the  world  ring  with  the  persecutions 
of  the  G- entiles ! 

Elder  Snow  was  succeeded  by  Amasa  Lyman,  one 
of  the  twelve,  a  rubicund,  smooth-faced  debauchee, 
who  spends  most  of  his  time  in  San  Bernardino,  Cali- 
fornia, and  has  concubines  at  convenient  stations  be- 
tween that  and  the  Mormon  capital.  His  language 
and  manner  were  less  violent  and  more  dignified,  but 
quite  as  significant.  He  reminded  the  members  of 
the  Church  of  their  covenant  obligations,  and  strongly 
urged  that  this  was  an  occasion  in  which  particular 
members  were  to  perform  the  duties  allotted  to  them ; 
alluding  evidently  to  the  "  Danitcs"  or  "  Brothers  of 
Gideon"  a  band  of  organized  ruffians  of  which  men- 
tion has  already  been  made,  whose  duty  it  is  to  exe- 
cute the  mandates  of  the  council,  "right  or  wrong." 

In  the  mean  time,  Smith  had  appointed  a  meeting 


334  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

at  his  own  house  for  this  same  Sabbath,  and,  as  the 
hour  approached,  a  band  of  young  men  assembled 
around  his  door,  and  collected  a  quantity  of  stones 
ready  for  use  ;  and  as  the  Gladdenites  came  to  attend 
the  meeting,  and  entered  the  house,  a  long,  six-foot, 
scowling  Danite,  by  the  name  of  Cummings,  in  obe- 
dience to  his  "  covenant  obligations,"  took  them  by  the 
collar  and  led  them  out,  with  threats  of  extermination. 
After  these  demonstrations,  it  was  generally  supposed 
by  the  resident  Gentiles  that  Smith  would  mysterious- 
ly disappear,  as  obnoxious  men  sometimes  do  in  this 
remote  region ;  but  the  leaders  either  concluded  that 
such  a  finale,  after  so  much  parade,  might  attract  the 
attention  of  the  general  government,  or  that  their 
threats  would  awe  the  heretics  into  submission.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  Gladdenism  is  feeding  upon  persecu- 
tion and  increasing  its  converts,  and  it  may  prove  to 
be  one  of  the  appointed  means,  under  Providence,  of 
breaking  the  Mormon  community  into  still  smaller 
fragments. 

Mormonism  has  probably  passed  its  culminating 
point,  and  may  reasonably  be  regarded  as  in  the  after- 
noon of  its  existence.  So  great  are  the  continual  drains 
upon  them,  that  the  present  population  of  Utah  can 
only  be  increased,  or  even  kept  up,  by  emigration.  Pri- 
or to  the  summer  of  1852,  the  existence  of  polygamy 
had  been  carefully  concealed  from  the  mass  of  the 
Saints  residing  abroad,  and  it  was  the  belief  of  many 
at  Salt  Lake  City  that  its  promulgation  would  discour- 
age further  emigration. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause — whether  the  public  an- 
nouncement and  justification  of  polygamy,  or  the  ab- 


UTAH   AND   THE    MORMONS.  335 

sence  of  Gentile  persecution,  or  because  the  concern  is 
wearing  out  of  itself,  a  comparison  of  their  numbers  at 
different  dates  will  show  an  evident  decline.  When 
Joseph  was  at  the  height  of  his  power  at  Nauvoo,  his 
disciples  in  different  parts  of  the  earth  were  supposed 
to  number  about  200,000  (including  the  families  of 
actual  members,  confined  almost  wholly  to  Great  Brit- 
ain and  the  United  States).  The  Mormons  themselves 
boasted  a  much  larger  figure.  In  the  Deseret  Almanac 
for  1853,  the  numbers  are  stated  at  150,000 ;  but  how 
one  half  of  this  is  made  up  it  is  difficult  to  see.  Tak- 
ing 30,000  as  the  population  of  Utah,  as  given  by  the 
same  authority,  and  adding  thereto  28,640,  the  num- 
ber which  Orson  Pratt  gives  for  the  British  Isles,  after 
taking  out  for  deaths  and  excommunicated  persons, 
and  we  have,  in  round  numbers,  less  than  59,000, 
which  leaves  a  balance  of  about  91,000  to  be  made  up 
from  the  United  States,  Sandwich  Islands,  &c. ;  and 
it  is  not  probable  that  one  eighth  of  that  number  can 
be  figured  up,  with  the  aid  of  Strangites  and  other 
schismatics. 

In  Great  Britain,  the  grand  total  in  1851  was  given 
at  30,747.  In  1853  Orson  Pratt  gives  it  as  follows : 

"  The  Statistical  Report  of  the  Church  of  the  Saints 
in  the  British  Islands,  for  the  half  year  ending  June 
30,  1853,  gives  the  following  total:  53  conferences, 
737  branches,  40  seventies,  10  high-priests,  2578  eld- 
ers, 1854  priests,  1416  teachers,  834  deacons,  1776  ex- 
communicated, 274  dead,  1722  emigrated,  2601  bap- 
tized ;  total,  30,690." 

Deducting  excommunications,  emigrants,  and  deaths, 
we  have  26,918.  This,  if  not  a  decided  falling  off, 


336  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

shows  at  least  a  stand-still  in  a  theatre  of  operations 
heretofore  remarkable  for  successful  proselytism. 

Again,  the  Deseret  Almanac  for  1853  gives  "  a  little 
over  30,000"  as  the  then  population  of  Utah.  Orson 
Pratt  states  it  in  his  "Seer"  at  from  "  thirty  to  thirty- 
five  thousand."  Some  of  the  Gentile  residents  sup- 
posed there  might  be  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
thousand ;  my  own  observation  fixed  it  at  25,000.  It 
appears  from  the  minutes  of  the  October  Conference 
(1853)  that  the  Mormon  population  was  18,206.  This 
does  not  include  the  village  of  Toele,  in  Toele  county, 
nor  Mountainville,  in  Utah  county  ;  but  the  population 
of  both  would  not  exceed  300,  adding  which  would 
make  18,506,  showing  a  decrease  of  about  5000  since 
the  winter  of  1853. 

While  the  numbers  already  gathered  are  on  the  de- 
crease, causes  similar  to  those  which  have  produced 
this  result  are  also  at  work  which  must  seriously  in- 
terfere with  the  accession  of  new  converts,  especially 
from  civilized  countries.  Polygamy  has  proved  to  be  the 
Pandora's  box  from  which  these  troublesome  plagues 
have  gone  forth  on  their  errand  of  mischief,  and  it 
would  seem  that  Hope  itself  had  been  permitted  to 
escape.  Owing  to  dissensions  which  have  grown  out 
of  this  institution,  the  missionary  establishment  has 
become  much  less  effective,  anjd,  consequently,  the  pro- 
gress of  conversion  is  much  more  tardy  than  formerly. 
"When  the  Governor  or  one  of  his  favorites  casts  a  long- 
ing eye  upon  the  Bathsheba  of  a  more  humble  brother, 
who  is  unwilling  to  give  her  up,  it  gives  rise  to  collis- 
ions, jealousies,  and  hate,  which  more  or  less  ruffle  the 
surface  of  Mormon  harmony.  In  these  cases,  the  hus- 


UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS.  337 

band  is  generally  sent  on  a  distant  mission,  that  the 
poacher  upon  his  grounds  may  be  rid  of  his  opposition. 
A  case  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1852.  One  Wells,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Public  "Works,  and,  withal,  a 
species  of  right-hand  man,  conceived  a  violent  passion 
for  the  sister  of  one  of  his  six  wives,  who  happened  to 
be  married  to  another  man.  The  husband  was  forth- 
with appointed  on  a  mission  to  Siam ;  but,  fully  un- 
derstanding the  true  reason  of  his  selection  for  so  dis- 
tant a  post,  he  refused  to  go.  This  recusancy,  how- 
ever, did  not  save  his  wife,  who,  during  the  ensuing 
winter,  was  transferred  to  the  harem  of  the  favorite. 

Again,  men  who  are  disposed  to  be  turbulent,  and 
who  may  exercise  an  influence  dangerous  to  the  reign- 
ing prophet,  are  sent  to  distant  parts  of  the  globe,  to 
keep  them  out  of  the  way.  Some,  too,  who  have  be- 
come miserable  sots,  and  otherwise  burdensome,  are 
sent  off,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  die  or  reform.  Two 
were  appointed  to  the  mission  in  China  in  the  spring 
of  1853,  one  of  whom  was  a  wretched  inebriate.  These 
men  went  to  California,  on  their  way  to  their  post,  in 
the  same  train  with  us.  At  the  sink  of  Mary's  River, 
near  the  commencement  of  the  forty-mile  desert,  was 
one  of  those  troublesome  liquor  stations  which  are  be- 
ginning to  cluster  the  route,  and  at  this  place  both  of 
these  messengers  of  mercy  became  beastly  drunk ;  and 
one  of  them,  being  quarrelsome  in  his  cups,  got  into  a 
fight,  and  carried  the  unequivocal  marks  of  the  en- 
counter in  his  face  for  some  days. 

Missionaries  who  are  thus  appointed  more  as  a  mat- 
ter of  policy  at  home  than  in  reference  to  their  effi- 
ciency abroad,  do  not  carry  with  them  the  same  zeal 

P 


338  UTAH   AND    THE    MORMONS. 

which  distinguished  the  early  Mormons.  They  have, 
too,  a  more  difficult  task  to  perform.  They  have  not 
only  to  overcome  the  repugnance  so  strongly  felt  in  all 
Christian  countries  to  polygamy,  but  to  explain  why 
they  have  heretofore  carried  on  a  system  of  deception 
in  regard  to  its  previous  existence.  From  these  and 
other  causes,  it  is  not  very  likely  that  a  larger  number 
of  Saints  than  the  present  population  of  Utah  will 
ever  be  organized  into  a  distinct  community,  and 
these,  it  may  well  be  foreseen,  subject  to  a  loss  which 
can  not  be  repaired,  must  gradually  sink  away  and 
become  lost  in  a  better  population.  The  American, 
therefore,  who  is  proud  of  his  country,  may  reasonably 
hope  that  the  Union  is  not  destined  to  be  disgraced  by 
the  admission  of  a  state  in  which  the  licentious  prac- 
tices of  Jewry  and  heathendom  are  made  a  part  of  its 
religious  institutions. 


UTAH    AND    THE    MORMONS.  339 


CONCLUSION. 

Early  in  May,  1853,  we  bade  adieu  to  Great  Salt 
Lake  City  with  a  degree  of  pleasure  which  the  reader, 
if  he  has  had  the  patience  to  peruse  the  foregoing  pa- 
ges, will  readily  appreciate,  and  started  for  California, 
homeward  bound.  We  joined  a  large  cattle-train  be- 
longing to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Kirkhead,  under  the 
charge  of  Captain  Howard  Egan,  an  experienced 
mountaineer.  "We  traveled  along  the  eastern  shore  of 
Great  Salt  Lake,  and  around  its  northern  extremity; 
looked  into  Oregon ;  climbed  over  the  Goose  Creek 
Mountains  ;  threaded  our  way  down  the  Mary's  River 
to  its  sink ;  passed  into  Carson's  Valley,  and  up  its 
river  to  its  sources  in  the  great  Sierra  Nevada ;  gazed 
with  wonder  upon  the  sublime  panorama  of  lofty 
mountain  peaks  and  tremendous  chasms  to  be  seen 
from  the  summit  of  that  mighty  range ;  and,  finally, 
descended  from  these  snowy  regions  into  the  Italian 
climate  of  California. 

When  we  reached  the  valley  of  the  Mary,  the  ordi- 
nary emigrant  road  was  found  to  be  impassable,  by 
reason  of  the  river  floods,  and  our  train  was  conducted 
with  great  skill  for  some  distance  along  the  base  of 
the  Humboldt  Mountains,  and  from  thence  obliquely 
to  the  river,  making  a  divergence  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  This  led  us  over  irregular  highlands 
and  through  frightful  gorges — a  region,  torn  by  earth- 
quakes and  scorched  by  volcanic  fires,  which  had  never 


340  UTAH   AND   THE   MORMONS. 

before  been  traversed  by  a  white  man.  Such  a  journey 
was  of  course  made  up  of  numerous  incidents  which 
can  not  be  forgotten,  and  especially  to  be  remem- 
bered may  be  mentioned  the  numberless  kindnesses 
received  from  the  proprietor  (Mr.  L.),  the  conductor, 
and  every  member  of  the  train ;  the  freely -tendered 
hospitalities  of  Colonel  Reese,  whose  establishment  in 
Carson's  Valley  reminds  one  of  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  eastern  life ;  and  the  friendly  aid  of  Mr. 
Edwin  "Woolly,  the  conductor  of  the  Mormon  train,  of- 
fered to,  and  gratefully  received  by,  a  small  party  of 
us  who  had  impatiently  separated  from  our  friends,  and 
were  about  entering  the  rugged  defiles  of  the  great 
Sierra. 

But,  however  interesting  all  these  incidents  may  be 
to  the  parties  concerned,  the  reader,  in  view  of  the 
multiplicity  of  published  travels,  will  readily  excuse 
in  this  instance  a  more  minute  detail. 


APPENDIX. 


REVELATION  GIVEN  TO  JOSEPH  SMITH,  NAUVOO,  JULY  12th,  1843. 

VERILY,  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you,  my  servant  Joseph,  that  in- 
asmuch as  you  have  inquired  of  my  hand  to  know  and  understand 
wherein  I,  the  Lord,  justified  my  servants  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  ; 
as  also  Moses,  David,  and  Solomon,  my  servants,  as  touching  the  prin- 
ciple and  doctrine  of  their  having  many  wives  and  concubines  :  Be- 
hold !  and  lo,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  answer  thee  as  touching 
this  matter :  therefore  prepare  thy  heart  to  receive  and  obey  the  in- 
structions which  I  am  about  to  give  unto  you  ;  for  all  those  who  have 
this  law  revealed  unto  them  must  obey  the  same  ;  for  behold  !  I  reveal 
unto  you  a  new  and  an  everlasting  covenant,  and  if  ye  abide  not  that 
covenant,  then  are  ye  damned ;  for  no  one  can  reject  this  covenant 
and  be  permitted  to  enter  into  my  glory ;  for  all  who  will  have  a 
blessing  at  my  hands  shall  abide  the  law  which,  was  appointed  for 
that  blessing,  and  the  conditions  thereof,  as  was  instituted  from  before 
the  foundations  of  the  world  ;  and  as  pertaining  to  the  new  and  ever- 
lasting covenant,  it  was  instituted  for  the  fullness  of  my  glory ;  and  he 
that  receiveth  a  fullness  thereof,  must  and  shall  abide  the  law,  or  he 
shall  be  damned,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

And  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  conditions  of  this  law  are  these : 
All  covenants,  contracts,  bonds,  obligations,  oaths,  vows,  performances, 
connections,  associations,  or  expectations,  that  are  not  made,  and  en- 
tered into,  and  sealed,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  of  him  who  is 
anointed,  both  as  well  for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  and  that,  too,  most 
holy,  by  revelation  and  commandment,  through  the  medium  of  mine 
anointed,  whom  I  have  appointed  on  the  earth  to  hold  this  power  (and 
I  have  appointed  unto  my  servant  Joseph  to  hold  this  power  in  the 
last  days,  and  there  is  never  but  one  on  the  earth  at  a  time  on  whom 
this  power  and  the  keys  of  this  priesthood  are  conferred),  are  of  no 
efficacy,  virtue,  or  force  in  and  after  the  resurrection  from  the  dead ; 
for  all  contracts  that  are  not  made  unto  this  end,  have  an  end  when 
men  are  dead. 


342  APPENDIX. 


Behold !  mine  house  is  a  house  of  order,  saith  the  Lord  God,  and 
not  a  house  of  confusion.  Will  I  accept  of  an  offering,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  is  not  made  in  my  name  1  Or  will  I  receive  at  your  hands  that 
which  I  have  not  appointed  1  And  will  I  appoint  unto  you,  saith  the 
Lord,  except  it  be  by  law,  even  as  I  and  my  Father  ordained  unto  you, 
before  the  world  was  1  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  I  give  unto  you 
this  commandment,  that  no  man  shall  come  unto  the  Father  but  by 
me,  or  by  my  word,  which  is  my  law,  saith  the  Lord  ;  and  every  thing 
that  is  in  the  world,  whether  it  be  ordained  of  men,  by  thrones,  or 
principalities,  or  powers,  or  things  of  name,  whatsoever  they  may  be, 
that  are  not  by  me,  or  by  my  word,  saith  the  Lord,  shall  be  thrown 
down,  and  shall  not  remain  after  men  are  dead,  neither  in  nor  after  the 
resurrection,  saith  the  Lord  your  God  ;  for  whatsoever  things  remain- 
eth  are  by  me,  and  whatsoever  things  are  not  by  me,  shall  be  shaken 
and  destroyed. 

Therefore,  if  a  man  marry  him  a  wife  in  the  world,  and  he  marry 
her  not  by  me,  nor  by  my  word,  and  he  covenant  with  her  so  long  as 
he  is  in  the  world,  and  she  with  him,  their  covenant  and  marriage  is 
not  of  force  when  they  are  dead,  and  when  they  are  out  of  the  world ; 
therefore  they  are  not  bound  by  any  law  when  they  are  out  of  the 
world ;  therefore,  when  they  are  out  of  the  world,  they  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  appointed  angels  in  heaven,  which 
angels  are  ministering  servants,  to  minister  for  those  who  are  worthy 
of  a  far  more,  and  an  exceeding,  and  an  eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  for 
these  angels  did  not  abide  my  law,  therefore  they  can  not  be  enlarged, 
but  remain  separately,  and  singly,  without  exaltation,  in  their  saved 
condition,  to  all  eternity,  and  from  henceforth  are  not  gods,  but  are 
angels  of  God  forever  and  ever. 

And  again,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry  a  wife,  and  make 
a  covenant  with  her  for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  if  that  covenant  is 
not  by  me  or  by  my  word,  which  is  my  law,  and  is  not  sealed  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  through  him  whom  I  have  anointed  and  ap- 
pointed unto  this  power,  then  it  is  not  valid,  neither  of  force  when 
they  are  out  of  the  world,  because  they  are  not  joined  by  me,  saith  the 
Lord,  neither  by  my  word ;  when  they  are  out  of  the  world,  it  can  not 
be  received  there,  because  the  angels  and  the  gods  are  appointed  there, 
by  whom  they  can  not  pass  ;  they  can  not,  therefore,  inherit  my  glory, 
for  my  house  is  a  house  of  order,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

And  again,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry  a  wife  by  my  word, 
which  is  my  law,  and  by  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and  it  is 
sealed  unto  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  by  him  who  is  anoint- 


APPENDIX.  343 


ed,  unto  whom  I  have  appointed  this  power  and  the  keys  of  this  priest- 
hood, and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye  shall  come  forth  in  the  first 
resurrection  ;  and  if  it  he  after  the  first  resurrection,  in  the  next  resur- 
rection ;  and  shall  inherit  thrones,  kingdoms,  principalities,  and  powers, 
dominions,  all  heights  and  depths,  then  shall  it  be  written  in  the  Lamb's 
Book  of  Life  that  he  shall  commit  no  murder  whereby  to  shed  inno- 
cent blood ;  and  if  ye  abide  in  my  covenant,  and  commit  no  murder 
whereby  to  shed  innocent  blood,  it  shall  be  done  unto  them  in  all 
things  whatsoever  my  servant  hath  put  upon  them  in  time  and  through 
all  eternity ;  and  shall  be  of  full  force  when  they  are  out  of  the  world, 
and  they  shall  pass  by  the  angels  and  the  gods,  which  are  set  there,  to 
their  exaltation  and  glory  in  all  things,  as  hath  been  sealed  upon  their 
heads,  which  glory  shall  be  a  fullness  and  a  continuation  of  the  seeds 
forever  and  ever. 

Then  shall  they  be  gods,  because  they  have  no  end ;  therefore  shall 
they  be  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  because  they  continue  ;  then 
shall  they  be  above  all,  because  all  things  are  subject  unto  them.  Then 
shall  they  be  gods,  because  they  have  all  power,  and  the  angels  are 
subject  unto  them. 

Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  abide  my  law,  ye  can  not 
attain  to  this  glory;  for  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  the  way,  that 
leadeth  unto  the  exaltation  and  continuation  of  the  lives,  and  few  there 
be  that  find  it,  because  ye  receive  me  not  in  the  world,  neither  do  ye 
know  me.  But  if  ye  receive  me  in  the  world,  then  shall  ye  know  me, 
and  shall  receive  your  exaltation,  that  where  I  am,  ye  shall  be  also. 
This  is  eternal  lives,  to  know  the  only  wise  and  true  God,  and  Jesus 
Christ  whom  he  hath  sent.  I  am  he.  Receive  ye,  therefore,  my-  law. 
Broad  is  the  gate,  and  wide  the  way  that  leadeth  to  the  death,  and 
many  there  are  that  go  in  thereat,  because  they  receive  me  not,  neither 
do  they  abide  in  my  law. 

Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry  a  wife  according  to  my 
word,  and  they  are  sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise  according  to 
mine  appointment,  and  he  or  she  shall  commit  any  sin  or  transgression 
of  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant  whatever,  and  all  manner  of  blas- 
phemies, and  if  they  commit  no  murder,  wherein  they  shed  innocent 
blood,  yet  they  shall  come  forth  in  the  first  resurrection,  and  enter  into 
their  exaltation  ;  but  they  shall  be  destroyed  in  the  flesh,  and  shall  be 
delivered  unto  the  bufferings  of  Satan,  unto  the  day  of  redemption, 
saith  the  Lord  God. 

The  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  shall  not  be  forgiven 
in  the  world  nor  out  of  the  world,  is  in  that  yc  commit  murder,  wherein 


344  APPENDIX. 


-ye  shed  innocent  blood,  and  assent  unto  my  death,  after  ye  have  re- 
ceived my  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  and  he 
that  abideth  not  this  law  can  in  no  wise  enter  into  my  glory,  but  shall 
be  damned,  saith  the  Lord. 

I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  give  unto  thee  the  law  of  my  holy 
priesthood,  as  was  ordained  by  me  and  my  Father  before  the  world 
was.  Abraham  received  all  things,  whatsoever  he  received,  by  revela- 
tion and  commandment,  by  my  word,  saith  the  Lord,  and  hath  entered 
into  his  exaltation,  and  sitteth  upon  his  throne. 

Abraham  received  promises  concerning  his  seed,  and  of  the  fruit  of 
his  loins — from  whose  loins  ye  are,  viz.,  my  servant  Joseph — which 
were  to  continue  so  long  as  they  were  in  the  world ;  and  as  touching 
Abraham  and  his  seed  out  of  the  world,  they  should  continue  ;  both 
in  the  world  and  out  of  the  world  should  they  continue  as  innumerable 
as  the  stars ;  or,  if  ye  were  to  count  the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore,  ye 
could  not  number  them.  This  promise  is  yours  also,  because  ye  are 
of  Abraham,  and  the  promise  was  made  unto  Abraham,  and  by  this  law 
are  the  continuation  of  the  works  of  my  Father,  wherein  he  glorineth 
himself.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  do  the  works  of  Abraham ;  enter  ye 
into  my  law,  and  ye  shall  be  saved.  But  if  ye  enter  not  into  my  lav/, 
ye  can  not  receive  the  promises  of  my  Father,  which  he  made  unto 
Abraham. 

God  commanded  Abraham,  and  Sarah  gave  Hagar  to  Abraham  to 
wife.  And  why  did  she  do  it  1  Because  this  was  the  law,  and  from 
Hagar  sprang  many  people.  This,  therefore,  was  fulfilling,  among 
other  things,  the  promises.  Was  Abraham?  therefore,  undef  condemna- 
tion'? Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Nay;  for  the  Lord  commanded  it» 
Abraham  was  commanded  to  offer  his  son  Isaac  ;  nevertheless,  it  was 
written,  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Abraham,  however,  did  not  refuse,  and  it 
was  accounted  unto  him  for  righteousness. 

Abraham  received  concubines,  and  they  bare  him  children,  and  it 
was  accounted  unto  him  for  righteousness,  because  they  were  given 
unto  him,  and  he  abode  in  my  law  ;  as  Isaac  also,  and  Jacob,  did  none 
other  things  than  that  which  they  were  commanded ;  and  because  they 
did  none  other  things  than  that  which  they  were  commanded,  they 
have  entered  into  their  exaltation,  according  to  the  promises,  and  sit 
upon  thrones ;  and  are  not  angels,  but  are  gods.  David  also  received 
many  wives  and  concubines,  as  also  Solomon,  and  Moses  my  servant, 
as  also  many  others  of  my  servants,  from  the  beginning  of  creation 
until  this  time,  and  in  nothing  did  they  sin,  save  in  those  things  which 
they  received  not  of  me. 


APPENDIX.  345 


David's  wives  and  concubines  were  given  unto  him  of  me  by  the 
hand  of  Nathan  my  servant,  and  others  of  the  prophets  who  had  the 
keys  of  this  power ;  and  in  none  of  these  things  did  he  sin  against 
me,  save  in  the  case  of  Uriah  and  his  wife ;  and,  therefore,  he  hath 
fallen  from  his  exaltation,  and  received  his  portion ;  and  he  shall  not 
inherit  them  out  of  the  world,  for  I  gave  them  unto  another,  saith  the 
Lord. 

I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  I  gave  unto  thee,  my  servant  Joseph, 
an  appointment,  and  restore  all  things  ;  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall 
be  given  unto  you,  according  to  my  word ;  and  as  ye  have  asked  con- 
cerning adultery,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  receiveth  a 
wife  in  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and  if  she  be  with  another 
man,  and  I  have  not  appointed  unto  her  by  the  holy  anointing,  she  hath 
committed  adultery,  and  shall  be  destroyed.  If  she  be  not  in  the  new 
and  everlasting  covenant,  and  she  be  with  another  man,  she  has  com- 
mitted adultery  ;  and  if  her  husband  be  with  another  woman,  and  he 
was  under  a  vow,  he  hath  broken  his  vow,  and  hath  committed  adultery ; 
and  if  she  hath  not  committed  adultery,  but  is  innocent,  and  hath  not 
broken  her  vow,  and  she  knoweth  it,  and  I  reveal  it  unto  you,  my 
servant  Joseph,  then  shall  you  have  power,  by  the  power  of  my  holy 
priesthood,  to  take  her,  and  give  her  unto  him  that  hath  not  committed 
adultery,  but  hath  been  faithful ;  for  he  shall  be  made  ruler  over  many ; 
for  I  have  conferred  upon  you  the  keys  and  power  of  the  priesthood, 
wherein  I  restore  all  things,  and  make  known  unto  you  all  things  in 
due  time. 

And  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  whatsoever  you  seal  on  earth 
shall  be  sealed  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  you  bind  on  earth,  in  my 
name  and  by  my  word,  saith  the  Lord,  it  shall  be  eternally  bound  in 
the  heavens ;  and  whosesoever  sins  you  remit  on  earth,  shall  be  re- 
mitted eternally  in  the  heavens  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  you  retain  on 
earth,  shall  be  retained  in  heaven. 

And  again,  verily,  I  say,  whomsoever  you  bless,  I  will  bless ;  and 
whomsoever  you  curse,  I  will  curse,  saith  the  Lord ;  for  I,  the  Lord, 
am  thy  God. 

And  "again,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  my  servant  Joseph,  that  whatso- 
ever you  give  on  earth,  and  to  whomsoever  you  give  any  one  on  earth, 
by  my  word  and  according  to  my  law,  it  shall  be  visited  with  blessings 
and  not  cursings,  and  with  my  power,  saith  the  Lord,  and  shall  be 
without  condemnation  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  will  be  with  thee  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,  and  through 
all  eternity ;  for. verily  I  seal  upon  you  your  exaltation,  and  prepare  a 
P  2 


346  APPENDIX. 


throne  for  you  in  the  kingdom  of  my  Father,  with  Abraham  your  father. 
Behold  !  I  have  seen  your  sacrifices,  and  will  forgive  all  your  sins  ;  I 
have  seen  your  sacrifices,  in  obedience  to  that  which  I  have  told  you  ; 
go,  therefore,  and  I  make  a  way  for  your  escape,  as  I  accepted  the  of- 
fering of  Abraham,  of  his  son  Isaac. 

Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  a  commandment  I  give  unto  mine  handmaid, 
Emma  Smith,  your  wife,  whom  I  have  given  unto  you,  that  she  stay 
herself,  and  partake  not  of  that  which  I  commanded  you  to  offer  unto 
her ;  for  I  did  it,  saith  the  Lord,  to  prove  you  all,  as  I  did  Abraham, 
and  that  I  might  require  an  offering  at  your  hand  by  covenant  and 
sacrifice  ;  and  let  mine  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  receive  all  those  that 
have  been  given  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  who  are  virtuous  and 
pure  before  me  ;  and  those  who  are  not  pure,  and  have  said  they  were 
pure,  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord  God ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  ye  shall  obey  my  voice  ;  and  I  give  unto  my  servant  Joseph 
that  he  shall  be  made  ruler  over  many  things,  for  he  hath  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things,  and  from  henceforth  I  will  strengthen  him. 

And  I  command  mine  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  to  abide  and  cleave 
unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  to  none  else.  But  if  she  will  not  abide 
this  commandment,  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord,  for  I  am  the 
Lord  thy  God,  and  will  destroy  her  if  she  abide  not  in  my  law ;  but  if 
she  will  not  abide  this  commandment,  then  shall  my  servant  Joseph  do 
all  things  for  her,  as  he  hath  said ;  and  I  will  bless  him,  and  multiply 
him,  and  give  unto  him  an  hundred-fold  in  this  world,  of  fathers  and 
mothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  houses  and  lands,  wives  and  children, 
and  crowns  of  eternal  lives  in  the  eternal  worlds.  And  again,  verily, 
I  say,  let  mine  handmaid  forgive  my  servant  Joseph  his  trespasses,  and 
then  shall  she  be  forgiven  her  trespasses,  wherein  she  hath  trespassed 
against  me  ;  and  I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  bless  her,  and  multiply  her, 
and  make  her  heart  to  rejoice. 

And  again,  I  say,  let  not  my  servant  Joseph  put  his  property  out  of 
his  hands,  lest  an  enemy  come  and  destroy  him — for  Satan  seeketh  to 
destroy — for  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  he  is  my  servant ;  and  be- 
hold !  and  lo,  I  am  with  him,  as  I  was  with  Abraham  thy  father,  even 
unto  his  exaltation  and  glory. 

Now,  as  touching  the  law  of  the  priesthood,  there  are  many  things 
pertaining  thereunto.  Verily,  if  a  man  be  called  of  my  Father,  as  was 
Aaron,  by  mine  own  voice,  and  by  the  voice  of  him  that  sent  me,  and 
I  have  endowed  him  with  the  keys  of  the  power  of  this  priesthood,  if 
he  do  any  thing  in  my  name,  and  according  to  my  law,  and  by  my 
word,  he  will  not  commit  sin,  and  I  will  justify  him.  Let  no  one, 


APPENDIX.  347 


therefore,  set  on  my  servant  Joseph,  for  I  will  justify  him  ;  for  he  shall 
do  the  sacrifice  which  I  require  at  his  hands,  for  his  transgressions, 
saith  the  Lord  your  God. 

And  again,  as  pertaining  to  the  law  of  the  priesthood  :  if  any  man 
espouse  a  virgin,  and  desire  to  espouse  another,  and  the  first  give  her 
consent ;  and  if  he  espouse  the  second,  and  they  are  virgins,  and  have 
vowed  to  no  other  man,  then  is  he  justified ;  he  can  not  commit  adultery, 
for  they  are  given  unto  him  ;  for  he  can  not  commit  adultery  with  that 
that  belongeth  unto  him,  and  to  none  else  ;  and  if  he  have  ten  virgins 
given  unto  him  by  this  law,  he  can  not  commit  adultery,  for  they  be- 
long to  him,  and  they  are  given  unto  him ;  therefore  is  he  justified. 
But  if  one  or  either  of  the  ten  virgins,  after  she  is  espoused,  shall  be 
with  another  man,  she  has  committed  adultery,  and  shall  be  destroyed ; 
for  they  are  given  unto  him  to  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  accord- 
ing to  my  commandment,  and  to  fulfill  the  promise  which  was  given  by 
my  Father  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  for  their  exaltation 
in  the  eternal  worlds,  that  they  may  bear  the  souls  of  men  ;  for  herein 
is  the  work  of  my  Father  continued,  that  he  may  be  glorified. 

And  again,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  if  any  man  have  a  wife 
who  holds  the  keys  of  this  power,  and  he  teaches  unto  her  the  law  cf 
my  priesthood  as  pertaining  to  these  things,  then  shall  she  believe  and 
administer  unto  him,  or  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord  your 
God  ;  for  I  will  destroy  her  ;  for  I  will  magnify  my  name  upon  all  those 
who  receive  and  abide  in  my  law.  Therefore  it  shall  be  lawful  in  me, 
if  she  receive  not  this  law,  for  him  to  receive  all  things  whatsoever  I, 
the  Lord  his  God,  will  give  unto  him,  because  she  did  not  believe  and 
administer  unto  him  according  to  my  word ;  and  she  then  becomes 
the  transgressor,  and  he  is  exempt  from  the  law  of  Sarah,  who  admin- 
istered unto  Abraham  according  to  the  law,  when  I  commanded  Abra- 
ham to  take  Hagar  to  wife.  And  now,  as  pertaining  to  this  law,  verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  reveal  more  unto  you  hereafter,  there- 
fore let  this  suffice  for  the  present.  Behold !  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega. 
AMEN. 


THE  END. 


